The Importance of Hiring A Trial Lawyer to Handle Your Personal Injury Claim or Civil Rights Case
Most attorneys who claim to be personal injury attorneys or civil rights lawyers are trial cowards. They want to take the low hanging fruit. They are either afraid of trial or lack the skills to obtain maximum compensation by trying a case. These attorneys sign cases and then merely collect a fee for pushing paper and going through the motions. They leave the clients in the dark and try to convince their clients as to why they should settle their case or discourage them from going to trial altogether.
They have tactics for doing this. For example, one common tactic is when the attorney has an agreement requiring the client to pay costs. These attorneys know that the client will never be able to come up with the thousands of dollars needed to take a case to trial. The attorneys can then use this as leverage to make the client settle his or her case.
Another common tactic these attorneys will use is scaring the client into thinking they will lose the case. These attorneys will tell the client all the negative aspects of the case. They will also tell the client that the client may be responsible for paying the other side’s costs if they lose. In reality, even after a trial loss, there are several ways to avoid having to pay costs.
The reality is, that most attorneys do not even want to file a lawsuit. They want to settle everything beforehand where there is no heavy lifting required and the $15/hour legal assistant can do all the work. Even if the attorneys do file a lawsuit, they do not prepare the case for trial. They prepare the case for settlement. They simply go through the motions. Defense attorneys know when this happening as it is obvious. On the other hand, the client has no idea what is occurring.
This is common with “mill” firms. These mill firms advertise heavily and run a volume practice. Unfortunately, because these mill firms advertise so heavily they capture the bulk of the unsophisticated clients who need legal representation and desperately need help.
The mill firm model is to collect a cut and have paralegals and low-level, unskilled, attorneys handle their cases. They have no incentive to maximize the value of a case by doing extra work and taking the case to trial. Instead, they sign hundreds of cases and try to move them out as quickly as they take them in. The chances are, if you have seen their commercial on TV, that is exactly what you are getting when you hire them. You are getting a middle man with a law license who is having his underlings push paper while he is the face of the firm.
Scottsdale Injury Lawyers has the opposite business model. We prepare every case for trial. We do not run a volume practice. We are selective with our cases and maintain a low number of cases. Attorneys work on each and every case and intimately know all the details. Since we do not run a volume business model, it is critical that we obtain a high payout on each case. This is what the client deserves and what the client gets when they hire Scottsdale Injury Lawyers. The client gets the benefit of knowing that the attorney who handles the case has a very real and vested interest in getting the client the most money possible.
The most important question someone should ask when hiring a civil rights attorney or personal injury lawyer is: “When was the last time you had a jury verdict and what was the amount?” The next questions someone should ask the prospective lawyer are: “Have you ever obtained a six-figure jury verdict?” “How about a seven-figure jury verdict?” If the attorney cannot provide you with a list of jury verdicts, that he has recently and personally achieved, then you are hiring a hack and you should run for the hills. You should also get the case numbers for those verdicts and verify them or ask the attorney to provide you with the articles or stories proving the verdict was obtained.
Not All Attorneys Are Created Equal
Not all attorneys are created equal. Just like in every profession, you have the cream of the crop and everyone else. It is no different in medicine, food service, construction or whatever trade or profession you can think of. There are doctors who work at urgent care and there are cardiac surgeons performing open heart surgery. Both are medical doctors. There are contractors who scrape by and do single room remodels and there are contractors who build multi-million-dollar homes from the ground up. Both have a contractor’s license. There are cooks that prepare food at a taco shack and there are executive chefs winning Michelin Stars. Both prepare food for people.
The best attorneys in the profession are proven trial lawyers. These attorneys go to war, get the verdict and deliver the result. They do not spend their time shooting TV commercials, recording radio spots and milling out cases to other firms and paralegals.
The attorneys who run a mill model are not successful trial lawyers. They are successful businessmen who are legal marketers. They are by no means lazy or unintelligent. The opposite is true. They are successful entrepreneurs who have elected to pursue the business of law as opposed to the profession of being a lawyer. They are comfortable having cheesy commercials and having their faces slathered around town on bus benches and billboards.
Make no mistake, running this type of law business is no easy task. They must market, budget, advertise and manage multiple offices and staff. What they are doing is extremely hard, but it does not benefit the client as much as the businessman attorney who is profiting from the volume business he has created.
There is No Place a Trial Lawyer Would Rather Be Than the Courtroom
A true trial lawyer thrives in the courtroom. That is his element. There is nowhere he would rather be.
“I will never remember a day I spent in the office. Those are unmemorable. I remember every single moment, witness, argument, and event from every day that I have ever spent in trial. Those are the moments that are burned into my memory. They are when I feel alive and when I know that I am doing something meaningful that makes a difference. It is the reason I got into this profession in the first place. Nothing is more satisfying than having a client thank you after a big trial victory. That client knows what it took to get there and the sacrifices you made to deliver the result. The client is forever grateful that you were willing to go to war for him or her. I still keep in touch with each and every client who I achieved a trial verdict for.”
- Tony Piccuta – Lead Trial Attorney of Scottsdale Injury Lawyers
A Personal Injury Attorney and Civil Rights Lawyer with a Proven Track Record of Jury Verdicts
Piccuta has repeatedly delivered jury trial verdicts for his clients. He has achieved both six and seven figure verdicts and verdicts in both state and federal court. He has won his last nine trials in a row. The last five verdicts he has achieved are as follows:
$710,000 Verdict – Civil Rights Case for Police Excessive Force, 2020
$1.925 Million Verdict – Motorcycle Injury Case, 2018
$240,000 Verdict – Low Impact Car Accident Case, 2017
$130,000 Verdict – Civil Rights Case for Police Misconduct 2017
$31,500 Verdict – Car Accident Case 2015
Of course, the above are only verdicts and do not showcase the incredible high-value settlements achieved over the last several years. Attorneys who go to trial and win cases develop a reputation that allow them to settle cases for fair value. In reality, attorneys who repeatedly win jury verdicts have less opportunities to go to trial. The insurance companies and defense attorneys know their reputation of winning and are less likely to put them to the test. These insurance companies and defense attorneys appreciate the risk involved and the exposure. They are afraid of “getting hit at trial” by the trial attorney with a proven track record of trial victories.
As such, the skilled trial lawyer will get his client a fair settlement more often than not. On the other hand, attorneys that do not have proven and recent trial results, will receive low-ball offers for their clients. The defense attorneys and insurance companies know their reputations for not trying cases. Just by hiring an attorney who takes cases to trial, you are starting out ahead and are more likely to receive greater financial compensation for your personal injury claim or civil rights case.
Even with an experienced and proven trial lawyer, there is still a chance that your case may go to trial. The more difficult the case, the more likely it is that it may be tried. On the other hand, the insurance companies may just miscalculate and underestimate the case. This happens from time to time.
“No great trial result has ever been achieved for an injured victim without an unreasonable offer from the defendants or the insurance company backing them.”
Contact Scottsdale Injury Lawyers Today to Speak to an Experienced Trial Lawyer
If you or a loved one is in need of an attorney to handle your personal injury or civil rights case, contact Scottsdale Injury Lawyers today. A skilled and proven trial lawyer is available now to discuss your case and provide advice. A consultation is free. If we do decide to take your case, it will be at no cost and we only get paid if we recover for you. Do not hesitate to contact us today.
About the author: The content on this page was written by Scottsdale personal injury attorney and civil rights lawyer Tony Piccuta. Piccuta graduated with honors from Indiana University-Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana (Ranked Top 35 US News & World Report 2018). Piccuta took and passed the State bars of Arizona, California, Illinois and Nevada (all on the first try). He actively practices throughout Arizona and California. He is a trial attorney that regularly handles serious personal injury cases and civil rights lawsuits. He has obtained six and seven figure verdicts in both state and federal court. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers for six years straight. He is a member of the Arizona Association of Justice, Maricopa County Bar Association, Scottsdale Bar Association, American Association for Justice, National Police Accountability Project and Consumer Attorneys of California, among other organizations.
Disclaimer: The information on this web site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading and relying upon the content on this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, you should contact our law firm for a free consultation and to discuss your specific case and issues. The information on this page is an attorney communication and advertising.
