So there are some common questions that clients ask as soon as they come in and quite frankly, it seems that the first three questions are the same questions with all my clients.
The first question they want to know is, “Do I have a case?” The second question is, “How long is my case going to take?” and the third question is, “How much am I going to get?”
So let’s explore this. I’m going to tell you at the outset based upon what you told me, based upon what I’m reading from our initial meeting if I believe you have a case. If I believe there’s a case, I’m going to tell you that my firm would be interested in representing you for the case and if you agree for my firm to represent you, we will then sign a retainer agreement and that would outline our representation and your duties as a client to the firm.
The second question becomes, “How long is my case going to take?” and I’m going to tell you now, I will tell you now and I tell all my clients, we haven’t been in that court since March 2020. That court has nothing right now but a backlog. It’s not just Hudson County. It’s all over New Jersey. It’s all over.
So I tell the client. Your case is probably going to take every bit of two years and if that’s news that you don’t want to hear, I’m sorry. Go somewhere else. But I am telling you that case most likely is going to take every bit of two years.
The third question is, “How much is my case worth or how much am I going to get?” I have no idea at the outset. I have no idea the nature and extent of your injuries. I have no idea if you had medical testing if you didn’t have medical testing, how the accident happened, what effect this accident has on your life.
I have no idea if you lost wages, or if you incurred expenses. So all of that information has got to get flushed out during the course of the case. So when a client comes in, the most common questions are, A, “Do I have a case?” B, “How long is my case going to take?” and C, “How much am I going to get?” Those are usually my pat answers to a client.
