To be clear, I think most attorneys are great. It’s just that the bad ones stand out and give the good ones a bad name. It’s kind of like how a terrible referee in a football or basketball game will be noticed, but if they are doing a great job you don’t even notice that they are there.
A woman from New Jersey called me about her workers’ compensation attorney. At first I thought she was in Chicago. She had a simple question as to when her settlement check would arrive as it had been more than 30 days since the Judge approved the contract.
I let her know that it typically happens in less than 30 days, but that she should call her lawyer as he would know for sure and could put pressure on the insurance company.
She let me know that throughout the case her attorney almost never has called her back and when he does, he yells at her and makes her feel dumb. Until I learned that he was in NJ, I had some guesses as to which Chicago lawyer it was.
She finally called me because he refused to call the insurance company on the status of the check, saying that he “didn’t want to bother them. It will come when it comes.”
How lame and pathetic. This is what his job is. Beyond that, doesn’t the lawyer want to get paid too.
Most attorneys aren’t like this fortunately, but a handful are and they are losing clients left and right because they get fired all of the time. In this case the lawyer didn’t get fired, but there’s zero chance my caller would go back to him in the future or refer anyone to him. So it’s just bad business aside from the fact that it’s immoral.
For you as an injured worker, you should realize that if you have this type of attorney you are not alone. It’s not just happening in Illinois, but elsewhere too. Again, most law firms give good service, but if yours does not, you can switch and it won’t cost you anything.
