How to Choose a New York Lawyer From the Yellow Pages

Fact: You've been injured and need to hire a New York attorney to represent you in your accident or medical malpractice case.
Fact: You don't know an attorney, and don't know a family member who knows an attorney.
Fact: You decide to look in the Yellow Pages for an attorney.
Fact: If you live in the New York metropolitan area, your Yellow Pages book is likely to have 30-40 pages worth of lawyer ads. The first 10-15 pages will likely be full-page color ads. After that, you are likely to find full-page ads in yellow or in white. After that, you are likely to see half-page ads or quarter-page ads.
Fact: Many law firms now take out two full-page ads, which are known as "double truck" ads, or even four full-page consecutive ads.

Question: How can you, as a consumer, tell the difference between a law firm that has a half page ad compared to a law firm that has two full-page ads? The answer is: You can't. Why not?

In order to answer that question let me ask you if the following phrases help you decide which lawyer is right for you:

"Injured?"
"Free consultation"
"Hurt in an accident? Get the money you are entitled to."
"We fight for maximum cash awards for the seriously injured"
"Aggressive and skilled trial lawyers"
"No fee unless we recover"
"Experience counts"
"Millions recovered in settlements and verdicts"
"No settlement, no fee"
"Over 20 years experience"
"Tell the insurance companies you mean business"
"Same day appointments"
"Immediate hospital and home visits"
"Convenient locations"

Do these phrases sound familiar? If you have opened your phone book, they should. These types of ads are found in practically every state in the country. Why? Because attorneys like to follow the crowd and think that if all of their competitors are doing the same thing, it must be working.

Getting back to the question I asked above, how do these phrases help you distinguish which lawyer is right for you? The bottom-line answer is: They don't. None of these ads educate you about whether a particular law firm can help solve your legal problem. None of those phrases above help distinguish one law firm from another. Rather, they rely on who can shout out the largest message that will catch your eye as you turn the pages from one law firm to another.

Do you really want to select an attorney the way that you hire a plumber? By picking out the biggest ad there is, thinking that bigger automatically means that the company you are hiring is better than someone who has a smaller ad? There is simply no way for a consumer to tell the difference. I will tell you that I have been in practice for over 21 years representing injured victims in accident and medical malpractice cases here in New York, and I cannot tell the difference between one firm and another from a yellow pages ad. If an experienced lawyer can't distinguish one law firm from another, how then can you expect a consumer to make an intelligent decision about which law firm is right for you?

The problem with Yellow Pages ads is that they do not convey information that you need to know before deciding whether to hire a particular firm. A law firm with a smaller ad may be the right one for you. On the other hand a law firm with a big four-page ad may have the money and resources to properly prosecute your case. Did you know that a full-page ad in the Yellow Pages here in New York costs $25,000-$30,000 for one year? Most people don't know that.

When looking to hire an attorney, you need to ask whether the firm has experience handling cases just like yours; who will be handling your case on a day-to-day basis; what information does the law firm provide before you ever walk into their office; whether they provide free reports, free books or even free video tips.

Only by becoming an educated consumer can you make an informed decision about which law firm is right for you.