Riley Law Firm

Selecting the Right Lawyer Can Be Your Most Important Decision

It has become increasingly difficult to pursue a civil lawsuit successfully in Texas. Even the most meritorious cases can be lost if the lawyer is inadequately experienced in the subject area, is insufficiently creative in his or her approach or pays insufficient personal attention to the development of the case.

Good professional judgment at all stages is vital, as is a strong sense of trust and personal rapport between the client and the lawyer.

Unfortunately, the market does not provide much meaningful guidance on which lawyer would be best for any case. And what may at quick glance appear enticing — a lawyer pounding on the table or touting how mean or aggressive he or she will be — is seldom a good predictor of how the lawyer will handle any particular client’s highly important case. Moreover, relatively frequently lawyers will take a financially appealing case with the intent of referring the case out to another lawyer, with whom the client has no familiarity or knowledge.

In short, in selecting the best lawyer for your case the stakes are high, the risk is great, and the information is sparse and sometimes misleading. Accordingly, it is important to obtain whatever reliable information you can and to interview the prospective lawyer.

Tim Riley was an honors graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. He has been practicing law in Texas for more than three decades, all focusing on civil litigation, with a heavy emphasis on professional malpractice lawsuits, injury lawsuits and commercial litigation.