BLOGS

Beware of Lawyers Who Advertise as Aggressive

If you have been harmed as a result of someone else’s negligence, are harmed on the job, or are facing a divorce, seeking the compensation to which you are entitled – or the divorce terms that support your financial and parental rights – can play a pivotal role in your future. As such, having an experienced California personal injury lawyer, workers’ compensation lawyer, or divorce lawyer on your side is always in your best interest, but beware lawyers who bill themselves as aggressive rather than experienced, compassionate, and focused – along with a long list of other important attributes – you may not receive the kind of legal guidance you need or for which you are looking.

What You Are Looking for and What You Need in a Lawyer

Regardless of the kind of lawyer you need, you are looking for all the following in the legal counsel you work with:

  • Well-informed guidance that helps you better understand the strengths and challenges of your claim or case and that helps you make the right decisions for you in your unique situation
  • Impressive communication skills that allow your lawyer to communicate clearly with you and with the other party to help ensure that your case or claim continues to move smoothly forward
  • High-level negotiation skills that allow your lawyer to effectively negotiate for your claim or case’s best possible resolution
  • A level head that helps to keep your case or claim out of court, where it can become both more costly and more time-consuming and where you will be required to give up your decision-making authority
  • Deep compassion that allows your lawyer to understand your position, which better motivates them to advocate for your rights and best interests skillfully
  • Keen legal skill and insight that allows your lawyer to see the big picture, to help you make well-considered decisions that move your case or claim forward toward a favorable outcome, and to help you bypass legal snags along the way
  • The sharp focus necessary to identify your legal rights and to proceed with skillfully protecting them throughout the legal process

Aggression in this context can derail your best efforts and can send your case or claim to spin headlong toward a long, drawn-out battle that is very unlikely to do you any favors.

Setting the Tone

The best policy when it comes to legal claims and cases – as in everything else in life – is to begin as you mean to proceed by maintaining your composure to the best of your ability and by proceeding with dignity while focusing on protecting your rights and best interests. When you take the high road and begin from a position of addressing the legal matter fairly, you set the tone for what is to come. In the best-case scenario, the other party involved will follow your lead and will rise to your invitation to settle the matter civilly in accordance with the evidence, the facts, and the law. While your good faith efforts are no guarantee that your case or claim will remain as amicable as possible, it does increase your chances of keeping things in this range and allows you more space for movement downward before things become truly ugly – or get to the point that you need the court’s intervention.

If Your Attorney Comes Out Swinging

If your attorney comes out swinging right out of the gate, there is nowhere to go but down. Once you demonstrate that you are ready for a knock-down, drag-out fight, the other side is sure to get the message and fall in line. It is very difficult to put the genie back in the bottle once a case or claim is headed toward a legal brawl, and from here, you can expect your case to be more acrimonious, more challenging, more time-consuming, and more expensive – not to mention that your rights are likely to be less well protected and it is far easier for your goals and priorities to be lost in the mayhem. While an aggressive attorney may be appealing in terms of that fighter stance, what you really need is a strong legal advocate, which is very different than an aggressor.

Don’t Wait to Consult with an Experienced California Lawyer Today

Whether you need legal guidance in terms of a personal injury claim, a workers’ compensation claim, or a divorce, a seasoned California lawyer whose focus is on skilled legal advocacy – rather than aggression – is standing by to help.