There are plenty of people who do.
There are plenty of people who don't.
Let's take a look at someone who might hire an attorney from watching their TV ad...
This person is going to have a legal problem. Usually they were involved in an accident or suffered injury because of a doctor's carelessness. Maybe one of their family members died because of someone's negligence.
While watching your favorite TV program, you see an ad for an accident attorney show up during the commercials. You decide, what the heck, why don't I call this guy and see if he can help.
In all likelihood, you don't know an attorney. Nor do you know someone who can refer you to a trusted attorney. You don't know who to speak to and this ad just popped up in the middle of you watching TV. Why not? You've got nothing to lose by calling.
So you decide to call.
You reach an operator. They take your contact information and either connect you to an attorney right away or promise to have a lawyer call you back.
An attorney calls you back and you tell him of your problem. He encourages you to sign up with them and that they can help you. You don't know any better, so you agree.
But before you jumpt the gun to sign that legal retainer, here's a few questions you should be asking if you're going to call an attorney as a result of seeing their ad on TV:
- How are you different from the other ten lawyer ads I saw before and after your ad? You all say the same thing. You all say "Call me now" but never tell me why each of you are different.
- Is the attorney who will speak to me on the phone the same one I will meet in the office?
- Is the attorney I meet with in the office the same one who will be handling my case on a day to day basis?
- Who will handle my case day to day? Is it a paralegal or case manager? Or will it be a real practicing attorney?
- If I sign with your firm, will the attorney I meet with to sign up be the same one who is with me at my deposition?
- Will the attorney who is at my deposition be the same one who will try my case in court?
- Do you have any free books I can read that you've written that will teach me how these cases work, before I come into your office? If not, why not?
- Do you have any free reports I can read that you've written that will teach me how these cases work, before I come into your office? If not, why not?
- Do you have any educational videos you've created that will teach me how these cases work, before I come into your office? If not, why not?
- How many cases does the firm handle in total?
- How many cases does each attorney handle at one time?
- How often do you keep in touch with me?
- Do I have to track down the attorney to find out what's going on with my case or does he send me frequent updates?
- Will you pay all the expenses on my case, including medical experts for trial, or are you going to tell me that I have to pay for that?
- In the past year, how much in settlements did your firm generate from my exact type of case?
- In the past year, how much in attorney's fees did your firm generate from my exact type of case?
The answers to these questions will help you decide if hiring an attorney from watching a TV ad is right for you and your case.
As you can tell from these questions, one of the biggest challenges for a consumer trying to find the right attorney to handle their matter is being able to distinguish one lawyer from another. TV marketing allows the attorney only 30 seconds to shout out their message. There's no time for an attorney to explain "why." Why that lawyer. Why that lawyer has more experience. Why they're different than all the other attorneys you see in TV ads.
The reality is that almost all attorneys who advertise on TV are unable to distinguish themselves from their competitors and colleagues.
They all say they handle accident cases. Ok...
They all say they have experience. Ok...
They all say they are capable. Ok...
But how are they different from each other?
None of them take the time to tell you.
None of them tell you that they educate you about your case before you ever pick up the phone.
None tell you that they have great educational videos to teach you about your specific type of case.
Very few tell you that they have written consumer guides and consumer books to help you learn about your type of legal matter.
Why not?
Mostly because their TV advertising company doesn't tell them they should do that.
Mostly because they don't consider the need to do that.
Compare that to going online to search for answers to your problem online...
You've got a legal problem.
You don't know an attorney.
You don't know someone who can refer you to a trusted attorney.
So, you go onto Google and do a search.
Maybe you want to learn more about your injuries.
Maybe you want to learn how a lawyer decides how he picks and chooses which cases to handle.
Maybe you want to learn how an attorney picks a jury in your type of case.
Maybe you want to know why you have to give pre-trial testimony in your type of case.
You start exploring different attorney websites.
You head over to YouTube and do the same searches.
You're looking for videos of attorneys in your state. You are eager to learn more.
You want to learn how your type of case works.
You find some great videos that explain how your type of accident case works.
You watch more of those videos. Then you click over to the attorney's website and see thousands of great articles all on the same type of case you have. You see the lawyer has written free reports and 4 free educational books about these exact cases.
You enter your name and email and get immediate downloads of this great information. You start reading.
You keep reading these free books the attorney has written. You watch more of his educational videos.
You begin to feel really confident about this attorney. You have seen him. You've heard him. You feel comfortable with him after watching his videos. That prompts you to call.
When you go into his office, it seems as if you've known this lawyer for a long time. It seems as if you're really familiar with him. It feels right.
That scenario is so much different than simply being interrupted while watching your favorite TV show and saying, "Hey, why don't I call and see if he can answer my questions."
Want to learn more about car accidents, medical malpractice cases and wrongful death cases here in New York?
If so, I encourage you to get my FREE educational books to the right of this page. Just enter your name and email and get an immediate download.
Want to watch some of my great educational videos? Simply click at the top of the page or watch the video below. By the way, I have created over 1400 videos designed to teach and educate you about how these types of cases work here in New York. My YouTube channel can be seen here.
To learn even more, there are blog posts and articles that will teach you and help you learn about your type of case right here on this website.
