If you’ve never hired a personal injury attorney before, or even if you have, you might not be sure how to find the best person for your needs. Here are six tips for finding a local personal injury attorney:
- Committed to Personal Injury Cases
- Capable of Winning Large Settlements
- Connected to Other Attorneys via Professional Organizations
- Showcases Real Reviews and Testimonials
- Contingency Fee Payment Schedule
- Regularly Updated Internet Presence
Committed to Personal Injury Cases
According to her website, Rachel only takes on personal injury cases. Her entire firm is dedicated to helping people rebuild their lives, financially and otherwise, after an accident. Her site lists a variety of personal injury cases she’s ready to handle, including:
- Auto accidents (including those caused by drunk driving)
- 18-Wheeler accidents (with a special understanding of North Texas roadways)
- Bus, airline or other mass transit / “common carriers” accidents
- Workplace injuries including construction site accidents
- Premises liability including dog bites, falls and sexual assaults
- Unjust denial or delay of any insurance claims
Additionally, she covers quite a few specialized personal injury cases including:
- Dangerous or defective products
- Sexual assault, hazing and defamation
- Medical malpractice and pharmaceutical negligence
- Daycare negligence and other child injuries
- Catastrophic events including fire and explosion
Rachel Montes has extensive experience dealing with personal injury cases. Aside from the typical car accident and truck accident cases, Rachel is also ready to handle a variety of lesser-known types of personal injuries.
She’s absolutely qualified for tip one!
Capable of Winning Large Settlements
Rachel’s web presence doesn’t seem to mention any previous verdicts or winnings. But this isn’t necessarily a strike against the firm.
With so many different types of personal injuries cases covered by the firm, settlements will vary substantially. For instance, the typical settlement from an airplane accident will usually be much higher than an auto accident. Posting settlement numbers without the proper content might be confusing to potential clients.
So, even though Rachel’s site doesn’t exactly meet tip two, we’re comfortable moving on to tip three:
Connected to Other Attorneys via Professional Organizations
First, let’s take a look at her education and background, which is found on her About page. Her education includes:
- Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, Dallas, Texas
- Honors: American Jurisprudence Award (1997)
- Law Review: Texas Wesleyan University Law Review
Now let’s move on to her professional associations. Rachel doesn’t just belong to a lot of professional legal organizations; she actually leads some of them, too. Some of the organizations on the list include:
- Women Trial Lawyers, TTLA Mid-Year Convention, 2008
- Best Lawyer Under 40 in Dallas, D Magazine, 2006
- Voted Texas Super Lawyer, 2009
- American Association for Justice, Member, 1994 – Present
- State Bar of Texas, Member, 1998 – Present
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Member, 2000 – Present
- Dallas Bar Association, Member, 2001 – Present
- Dallas Women Lawyers Association, Member, 2003 – Present
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors, 2004 – Present
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors, 2004 – Present
- TTLA Advocates, Board of Directors, 2008 – Present
- Christian Trial Lawyers Association, Member, 2008 – Present
- Dallas Democratic Lawyers Association, Board Member, 2008 – Present
- College of the State Bar of Texas, Member, 2004 – 2007
- Dallas Women Lawyers Association, President, 2006 – 2007
- Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Board of Directors, 2001 – 2004
- Montes & Associates, Owner, 1999 – 2007
- Ferrer & Assoc., Associate, 1998 – 1999
She more than meets the qualifications for tip three! Let’s move on to tip four.
Showcases Real Reviews and Testimonials
The website doesn’t showcase any reviews. However, the site is packed with information otherwise, so the lack of reviews might simply be a space-saving feature.
Rachel’s Facebook page does have five reviews. Their average score is a perfect five stars. While there aren’t many reviews, the perfect score is a good sign. Most people only bother to write a Facebook review if they’re unhappy with a business. But in this case, five people had such good service they took the time to post a compliment.
Contingency Fee Payment Schedule
This is an easy one. She charges clients nothing unless she wins their personal injury case. Additionally, consultations are also free. You can meet with her and discuss your case with no obligation or financial risk.
Contingency fees are absolutely the norm at this firm. So now let’s move on to the final tip.
Regularly Updated Internet Presence
This one’s a bit of a mixed bag. Her Twitter was very active until just a few months ago. However, her Facebook page is much less active with only a post or two per month.
On the other hand, her main webpage really shines. She posts detailed blogs on a wide variety of legal topics. You can get a thorough understanding of the law before you even meet her.
Overall, Rachel Montes passes most of the tips quite easily. While we’d like to see a few more testimonials and additional info on settlements, based on everything we could find Rachel is a great choice if you’re looking for a personal injury attorney in the Irving, Texas, and surrounding areas.
