The Importance of a Lawyer Having Multiple Offices

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller who asked if our law firm would be a good fit to handle her personal injury case. Her first question right out of the box was, “how many offices do you have?”

I have to say, the question caused me to pause for a moment. Implicit in the question was that if our firm did not have multiple locations in several different cities, the caller would keep calling attorneys until she found a firm with multiple offices.

But, how did the caller get that impression?

I did not ask the caller, but I suspect someone at some time told her it was necessary.

Some attorneys believe that to do well with online search engines, they have to list multiple offices.

About 20 years ago, attorneys discovered that they would rank higher in searches if they listed themselves as having offices in multiple cities.

It did not take long for the search engine companies to require an actual physical office in a city or town to list a firm as being in that town. In response, law firms would sign a $100 a month lease agreement to have the right to use space somewhere in a city and place a tiny sign in the window there. But that practice has mostly fallen by the wayside.

Some law firms do have legitimate small offices in multiple communities, though.

But, the reality is that one person can only be in one place at one time. Typically in a multi-office firm, if there is one of several attorneys you want to see, that one particular attorney only works in City A and does not work in City B or City C.

Having multiple law offices can be incredibly important for defense firms representing large corporations with branches in New York, London, and Hong Kong. But, if you are seeking representation for a personal injury claim, whether or not the attorney you choose has multiple offices should not be on the list.

Take our law firm, for example, we have one office, but we practice law throughout the entire State of Indiana. We even practice in the northeastern corner of Illinois. If we have a trial in a City in Indiana that is many miles from our office, we simply travel there.

We have tried many cases that required multiple overnights in a hotel.

The bottom line is experience, trustworthiness, and the like, should be your prime focus in seeking an attorney to assist you with an injury claim.

Here are several questions you’ll want to definitely include on your ask list:

• Do you hold Board Certification in Civil Trial Advocacy?
• Do you concentrate your practice on representing plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death claims?
• How many years of experience do you have?
• Do you have jury trial experience?
• Do you work on a contingent fee?
• Do you use professional investigators and accident reconstruction experts?
• Does your firm have legal malpractice insurance coverage?
• Do you advance litigation expenses for your client?

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, a product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”