You need to consider at least six different criteria if you want to find a credible personal injury attorney. These characteristics will help you narrow down the sometimes overwhelming number of attorneys and locate the attorney that best suits your needs. The six things you should look at include:
- Focus on personal injury law
- Good track record of high settlements and positive verdicts
- Member of bar associations and trial lawyer groups
- Positive and credible reviews or testimony
- Operates on a contingency fee
- Active and engaging online presence
Let’s look at Allen Cox and see how well he matches these characteristics.
1. Focus on Personal Injury Law
While the law office of Allen Cox covers several types of law, personal injury is their focus. Allan Cox has three state licenses (Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) and specializes in serious personal injury claims. They handle cases that have included:
- Automobile accidents
- Truck accidents
- Amusement park injury (i.e., Six Flags)
- Bus accident (i.e., Dart)
- Industrial accidents
- Product defects
- Food poisoning
- Workplace accidents
- Wrongful death
- Swimming pool (i.e., diving accidents)
- Premises accidents
- Aircraft accidents
- Animal and dog bites
Cox also specializes in a variety of claims including health insurance claims and general liability claims. The firm can also help you with subrogation and liens against your personal injury claim.
So far so good for Allen Cox, let’s look at the second criteria.
2. Good Track Record of High Settlements and Positive Verdicts
Before Allen Cox became an attorney, he spent time as a multi-lines insurance adjuster and investigated accidents and parts failures for the Ford Motor Company. Because of his history with claims and accidents, he has a good track record in this area of law.
His website lists a few of the companies he has directly worked with over the years, but there are no specific claims on any settlements or verdicts. Many attorneys don’t list their settlements online, and that isn’t a huge red flag.
We suggest you ask Allen about his settlements and verdicts if you choose to seek his counsel. Now let’s check criteria three.
3. Member of Bar Associations and Trial Lawyer Groups
You can find Allen Cox on the State Bar of Texas’s site and see that he is board certified in personal injury trial law. He also is a member of several bar associations and groups. We found these listings on his site:
- Business and Marketing Degree from Southern Methodist University
- Law Degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law
- Member of the Dallas County Bar Association
- Member of the Tarrant County Bar Association
- Member of the Texas Bar Association
- Member of the Oklahoma Bar Association
- Member of the Missouri Bar Association
- Part of the Grapevine Runners and Walkers Club
- Texas Real Estate Salesperson License
Allen is clearly active not only in numerous groups but also several states. He meets criteria three and now let’s check number four.
4. Positive and Credible Reviews or Testimony
Allen does not include any client reviews on his website, and we couldn’t find any on Google or Yelp. His firm is listed in a few attorney directories, but there was only one review from 2013. The reviewer gave him 3 out of 5 stars and stated that while they were pleased with his service, the pricing wasn’t clearly stated, and they were surprised by a bill.
Other than that, one review, there is nothing else. While this might seem troubling, it does show that there aren’t any fake reviews out there trying to lure in potential clients. It would be a good idea to talk to Allen about his previous cases and see if he can provide other more recent reviews.
On to criteria five.
5. Operates on a Contingency Fee
It is common for personal injury attorneys to work on a contingency fee. A contingency fee means that the attorney will collect a percentage of any winnings. Contingency fees help ensure that an attorney works hard to win your case and gets you the most money possible.
We couldn’t find anywhere on Allen’s website that he works on a contingency basis, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. His firm does offer a free initial consultation that lasts about 30 minutes. If you do decide to use AC Law, make sure you talk about fees and services before you sign any contract.
Let’s look at the final criteria.
6. Active and Engaging Online Presence
Other than his website, Allen doesn’t have much of an online presence. His LinkedIn profile is mostly empty, he doesn’t have a Facebook group for his firm, and he doesn’t have a Twitter account. While it isn’t necessarily bad to not have a ton of social media presence, it does help potential clients to learn more about the attorney.
Allen is very clearly active in his community and the various bar associations in his area. He has a lot of experience in the field of personal injury law as well as expertise in multiple forms of claims. We recommend checking out Allen Cox if you are in the Grand Prairie area.
