Harris Law Firm PA

I have never understood how so many people can literally spend more time researching their dinner, or the ingredients on a cereal box, then they spend on the important decision on whether to hire a personal injury lawyer, and if so, who that personal injury lawyer should or will be.  A serious injury claim can involve lifetime changes and challenges, and so the decision on who should be your advocate and stand by your side could have effects for years to come.

The Parade of Advertising

Instead, many people simply hire:

1. injury lawyer lawyer they see on television (or the one who seems to be on TV the most)
2. accident attorney who has biggest phone book advertisement
3. accident lawyer who has a free calendar magnet on a phone book (this seems particularly silly to me, as you probably don’t need that tiny-print calendar, and quite frankly, those magnets rarely hold up my kid’s “art” on the fridge (yes . . . I’ve tried))
4. the personal injury lawyer with an ad on the back of a bus
5. the injury attorney who has a billboard on the highway
6. and so on . . .

I’m all for attorney advertising.  Let’s face it: every profession and every business markets to its potential customers, patients, clients, what have you.

I simply ask consumers to exercise common sense and good judgment, as they do in the other aspects of their life, when choosing the right injury lawyer for their case.  For example, I could be the right lawyer for your serious injury claim; and in others, I’m probably not.

I don’t want every injury case.  I’m selective. I’m honest about it.

Attorney-Client Compatibility

In my view, good people going through a tough time because of others’ negligence should not select their personal injury lawyers without checking experience, knowledge, skills, and perhaps just as important: compatibility.

You see, an attorney-client relationship — which can last for years — often does have a degree of compatibility.  This does not mean that the prospective client and attorney have to agree on everything; in fact, it may be better to have different viewpoints.  Being able to reconcile those differences — productively — speaks more to compatibility than either the attorney or the client being a “yes man.”

Candidly, I’ve never been a “yes” man, so to speak, to simply agree with a view that I do not believe, in my professional judgment, is the right direction.  Disagreement can be good, and can make both the attorney and client stronger, and even build a stronger case.

Knowledge is Power: You Should Know, For Example, About Cases I am Likely Not to Accept

My opinion is that not every injury, even in cases where another is at fault, has a remedy.  Some injuries — and in my view, especially minor ones — are simply not worthy of a making a claim, let alone a lawsuit.

Due to the high volume client inquiries that I receive, I have found that the only way to provide personal service to my serious personal injury clients is to decline those cases that do not meet my strict criteria.

• If You Were a Able-Bodied Adult Before the Injury And Chose Not to Work, Then I Will Not Represent You

I stay away from those able-bodied and mentally competent adults who — before the injury — never had a job.  This does not apply to our seniors in retirement after a work history or children.

Instead, if you were able to work before the accident injury and simply did not, playing “the system” for free handouts, and hoping that your injury claim means yet another one, then I will not represent you.  In my view, there is no excuse for this type of behavior, is a sign of trouble ahead, and is not just not for me.

Not only do I have a deep philosophical problem with that past behavior and attitude, but it is also too hard to explain to people on a jury — most of whom have jobs or a job history — why such a person never worked before the accident injury, when that person had the chance.

There may be many lawyers who do not care about this type of background, but I do.  Don’t bother with the call.

• I Choose to Represent Those Who Have Suffered Serious Personal Injury

Some examples of what I see as serious or permanent personal injuries include:

• broken bones or bone fracture
• herniated disk (also known as ruptured disk)
• brain injury
• burn injury
• spinal cord injury
• permanent loss of a sense or function (e.g. vision loss, paralysis, etc.)
• permanent injury
• wrongful death

Like any condition, there are degrees of severity.  If you think you qualify for my representation, then contact me.

Some of these serious injury types may be moderate but permanent, while others may be severe and catastrophic, such as TBI, amputation injury, paralysis, cerebral palsy, blindness, and so on.

Look at my Consumer Justice Attorney website for examples, including in the Law Library and Injury and Illness Types for a more complete list of examples.

So, Who Do I Represent?

The bottom line, honestly, is that I represent individuals and families who I believe in.  I fight for my clients, and my desire to help is driven not just by the serious wrong which has befallen them, and dramatically interfered with their lives, but also by the client — the person — himself/herself. It is not just professional, but also personal.  There is an inner drive to help good, decent, people facing such misfortune above and beyond any financial motivation. There is vision. There are values.  My clients and I share them both at the outset and throughout the representation.

Fighting for my clients in our justice system, to help them overcome their challenges and hardship, to hold the wrong accountable, to  prevail over adversity and provide some measure relief to right the wrong (and I fight for for the maximum, best result which both the client and I both agree and believe is possible and just); and doing so promptly, ethically, and justly, is a good thing.  No — it’s a great thing.

It is good and right to be motivated by such principles, in my view, and not just the potential financial reward for my labors.  There is depth and philosophy behind my art and my good work.

In the end, I am a serious lawyer helping those who have suffered serious personal injury.