How to prepare for your initial meeting with your lawyer

It is always best to be prepared to meet with your lawyer.

You should bring with you all documents you have that may be relevant to the potential case or issue you will be discussing with your lawyer.  You will want to let your lawyer review them to determine whether they are relevant to the case.

If you have a timeline intensive case, it will be extremely helpful to write down or type out a chronological timeline of events in your case.

If you have seen any doctors related to your case, you should bring a list of those doctors and, if possible, the medical records.

If your case involves an employment issue, make sure you have the full names of your supervisors or bosses involved and other co-workers who may be witnesses.

Make sure you know the relevant dates related to your case (for example, date of car accident or injury in a personal injury case, date of termination in an employment case, date of surgery or medical procedure in a medical malpractice case, date of injury in a worker's compensation case)

Teresa E. Harvey

Should you have questions regarding a legal matter and would like to set up a free consultation, please contact me by going to our website http://www.cglawms.com or by calling 601-948-8005 today.

I was in a car wreck on the job that is someone else's fault. I have a lawyer to pursue the person that hit me, but he won't take my workers compensation case. What can I do?

You can have separate lawyers for both cases.  But generally, our firm recommends that you get one firm to represent you on both aspects of the cases.  The interplay between the two can be very complicated, but not all firms have experience in both areas.  However, it is ok to get a separate lawyer to make sure your rights are protected on your workers compensation case as well.  If you are happy with your lawyer on the car wreck but want to get some free and confidential advice on the workers compensation case, call our office at 601-948-8005 or go to our website at http://www.cglawms.com today.  If possible, we will work to cooperate with the other lawyer to make sure both remedies are maximized.

Rogen K. Chhabra

I'm not happy with my workers compensation lawyer. Can I fire my attorney?

Yes, but be careful.  Lawyers are not magicians.  Sometimes people expect results that are impossible to deliver.  What you should expect from your lawyer is timely responses to your inquiries from the lawyer or properly trained staff and honest advice on the best way for your case to proceed. 

A few rules that you need to understand:

1.  Lawyers cannot speak to someone already represented by counsel.

2.  You can terminate your lawyer anytime, but you should make sure it is for a legitimate reason as opposed to unreasonable expectations on your part.

3.  Terminating a lawyer requires no special form.  It is as simple as writing to the lawyer and stating that you no longer need their services.

4.  You are entitled to your file.  The lawyer is entitled to reasonable time to provide your file back to you and retain a copy.

5.  The lawyer will be entitled to a lien for services against a future settlement or award, but you should not be expected to pay the lawyer on termination of you signed a contingency fee agreement.

6. The lawyer also has a right to terminate the representation.

7.  You are free to hire a subsequent lawyer after the previous lawyer has been terminated.

8.  If the lawyer filed your case, the court will often give you a limited amount of time to get a new lawyer or proceed with your case on your own.  Do not miss that deadline or your case could be dismissed.

If you find yourself without a lawyer in an injury case and don't know what to do next, please call our office for a free consultation at 601-948-8005 or by going to our website at http://www.cglawms.com/.  The consultation is free and confidential and you have no obligation to hire us.

Rogen K. Chhabra