How Do I Select a Bad Faith Insurance attorney?
Hiring the right bad faith attorney requires picking a firm with a proven dedication to and expertise in insurance bad faith law, as well as the experience and resources necessary to be successful at trial. It is also important to choose a bad faith insurance law firm that takes cases on a contingency fee basis to ensure that their incentives are aligned with your own.
Pick a Firm With the Right Expertise and Focus
Insurance is an incredibly complex field. A general practice attorney who splits their time among personal injury, criminal defense, insurance, and other areas will simply not have the in-depth knowledge it takes to practice insurance law effectively. You need a law firm with years of experience investigating complex claims and going head-to-head with the biggest insurance providers, and you need a firm that truly dedicates itself to the practice of insurance law.
A lawyer without the requisite expertise will find themselves bogged down in the minutiae and complexity of insurance litigation. A lawyer who has not faced giant insurance corporations before will not be prepared to sit across the negotiating table or the courtroom from the big corporate law firms and the resources that they employ. A firm that does not exclusively focus on insurance law might not have sufficient resources to dedicate to understanding insurance law generally and your case specifically. A dedicated insurance attorney will be keeping up-to-date with the latest health research and case law to know how best to investigate and prepare your case, in addition to having an exhaustive knowledge of both insurance law and contract law.
Pick a Firm With a Proven Trial Record
In addition to hiring an attorney with the requisite expertise and focus, it is important to know that your attorney is ready to take your case as far as it needs to go. Bad faith insurance litigation often ends up at trial. If you want to make sure you can win, you need a lawyer who knows how to take a case all the way through trial and beyond, and who knows how to win at trial. These are skills that develop over time, with practice. Make sure your attorney has seen the inside of a courtroom before you hire them.
Pick a Firm With Sufficient Resources
The pluckiest and most earnest attorney will do you no good if they simply lack the time and workforce to fully handle your case. Insurance companies are massive corporations that keep hundreds of attorneys on staff and hire corporate law firms with thousands of lawyers at their disposal. Insurance cases are also complex. When choosing a law firm to represent your bad faith claims, you need to ensure that they have sufficient staff, attorneys, and other resources to fully investigate and pursue your claims, and to take your matter to trial if necessary.
Pick a Firm That Takes Cases on a Contingency Basis
You should not have to pay up-front to hire an attorney to take on your insurance case. If you are dealing with an insurance company, you are likely already struggling with financial issues. You are already trying to get a company to pay you the money that they owe–the last thing you need is to give some attorney an up-front retainer in the hopes that they get you your own money.
An experienced and competent bad faith insurance attorney should take your case on a contingency basis, meaning that they will be paid out of the settlement or verdict they get for you. Your attorney should only be paid if they win for you. That also means the attorney will only take your case if they think you have a real shot at winning. Be wary of any lawyer that wants you to pay them up-front or hourly for insurance claims that may never pan out, leaving you worse off than before.
Gianelli & Morris is Here to Fight for Your Insurance Rights
If you are a California insurance policyholder or beneficiary and you have faced a wrongful claim denial or bad faith conduct by an insurance provider, call the insurance law attorneys Gianelli & Morris for a free consultation regarding your case.
