A person whose grandson was badly injured in a car accident called me and was very direct right away. I love that because when you call us for legal advice, we are also incredibly direct, honest and to the point. Within 10 seconds this man said to me,
I want you tell me who the top rated personal injury lawyers are in Chicago.
That comment led to a longer discussion. Before I get into that, people come to us because we are lawyers who help people find the best Illinois attorney for their case. We have helped over half a million people since 2001 and would love to help you. You can contact us for a free case review any time at 312-346-5320.
Everyone wants the “best” lawyer they can get for their case or they should. But how do you find that? The answer is that there is no such thing, but instead you want to find the best attorney for your specific case.
There are literally thousands of Illinois attorneys who say they handle personal injury cases. Let’s first eliminate the ones you do not want.
Some of them are young. I would never recommend that you hire an attorney with less than ten years of experience. That is not to say a younger attorney couldn’t do a good job, but I would not want them learning from your case.
Some of them are old. Like really old. When you see that and they are not a part of a bigger firm it is a red flag. Are they spending half of their year in Florida or Arizona? Why are they still working? Are they keeping up with technology? Do they still take cases to trial? How is their health? All of these things would worry me.
I also think you should avoid attorneys who dabble in personal injury. Take a look at their website. If it talks about divorce or criminal law or real estate or anything else that is not an injury case, that could be a red flag. Again, they could do a good job for you, but I would feel more comfortable if they were doing nothing but injury cases.
After that look at what type of injury case you have. Most personal injury lawyers have handled car accident cases. Not all of them have a track record of winning slip and falls, trucking accidents, sexual abuse cases, injuries caused from defective hand rails, or other more unique claims. A lawyer might tell you that they can handle a case like that or have handled a couple, but again your best chance of success is with a firm that has handled dozens if not hundreds of similar cases and will not be learning on the job with your claim.
From there, an important question in determining who the best Illinois personal injury attorney for you is who is the defendant and what type of insurance is available. We often refer cases to a firm that sets records throughout Illinois for multi million dollar settlements and trial verdicts. They have over 200 results in the seven, eight and even nine figure range. They are incredible. But if your case is worth a maximum $100,000 because that is all the insurance there is available, they are not the right firm for you.
For cases with smaller values, but still worth something, there are a lot of great attorneys who will do an extremely thorough job on your case an maximize the amount put in your pocket at the end of the day. These attorneys also have a track record of seven figure wins, but give the same effort on a case worth much less than that.
On the other hand, if you have a major injury and there is a lot of insurance available, which usually means there is a corporate defendant like a trucking company or other business, there are certain firms who can make your case worth more money. I say that because they have a track record of getting large trial verdicts. This makes insurance companies think twice and gets your the highest offer possible. These are firms that are willing to turn down a million dollar offer if they think they can get you 10 million at trial. Believe it or not, there are a lot of law firms who would tell you to just take the million because they do not want to risk losing out on a big fee.
In my opinion, there are around ten or so firms in Illinois that regularly get settlements and verdicts that outshine others and probably another 15 or so that are able to get those types of results. We know which ones are still hungry and really fight for their clients. Some of these elite firms just want easy cases and appear to not put in the hard work. Others seem to coast by a reputation from accomplishments from a decade or more ago. It is not about who was the best injury attorney in 2018, but who is the best one for you today.
Part of our evaluation in making a recommendation has to do with the type of case you have. If it is something complex like an airplane crash or a multi car/semi accident, it is probable that a trial will not take place for many years. We think about not only who is right to take on the case now, but also who will be well positioned in the future.
We are also constantly networking and aware of law firms that are breaking up or rumored to be; we hear about attorneys planning to retire before the general public does; we know which firms have success with really niche cases. All of these things are a factor in finding the best attorney, especially in bigger injury cases.
There are other factors too like someone who speaks a foreign language if needed and someone who will travel to see you when necessary. Although we do recommend attorneys located all over Illinois, the most elite and accomplished ones are in Chicago. You do not need them for a smaller car accident, but the more complex a case is, the more likely they are the right fit for you. Do know that no matter where you are, no attorney we recommend is going to ask you to travel a distance to see them. They will handle your case by phone, Zoom and in person at your home.
Some things to look out for:
- Beware attorneys that want to charge 40% or more. A personal injury lawyer can ask for whatever they want. You should never agree to more than 1/3 in our opinion unless there is something really unique and challenging about your case.
- Beware ambulance chasers. These are firms that will pay for police reports to get your contact info and reach out to you unsolicited. That is unethical and a sign of the type of people you would be dealing with if you hire them. We never recommend law firms who do this.
- Know that a lot of the lawyers you see on TV are not actually Illinois attorneys. They might have an office here, but the main partners are based in other states and do not have a long track record of handling Illinois cases. We never recommend any of these attorneys. A lot of them are essentially marketing agencies in our opinion and hiring them creates a lot of risk for you.
- There are no legitimate rating lists. Lots of companies give out “awards” for top lawyers. Most of these are BS and go to attorneys who are willing to pay for the distinction. I have never met an attorney who puts any value on those things. It is pure marketing.
- Know that there are no official won/loss records. A win to you might be a loss to someone else. Getting a million dollars for a client sounds great and looks good on paper, but if the case could have been worth five million then it is a terrible result. You will never have enough information from a website to know what a case might have ultimately been worth and no lawyer is going to post about a loss. Our advice is to look for a pattern of great results. That is not a guarantee, but a good indicator.
We promise to give you a free case review and the chance to ask any questions you have. After that, if wanted, we will recommend a law firm for you based on your unique case facts. Nobody pays us to recommend them and while we can not guarantee a result, we do promise do give the same guidance that we would provide a friend or family member. Reach out any time at 312-346-5320. You will usually speak to an experienced attorney right away.
