Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer in California
- Tom Feher, Esq.
From Tom Feher, Esq. “Interview us. Any lawyer worth hiring will happily answer how many jury trials they have taken to verdict, who will actually work your file, and what their discipline record shows. The lawyers who dodge those questions are the reason to ask them.”
Short answer: ask every firm the same seven things before you sign: their jury trial record and results, who will personally handle your file, their State Bar discipline history, their standing in the legal community, their references, exactly how the fee works in writing, and whether they will try your case if the offer is short. The answers are all verifiable, most of them in minutes, and they predict your outcome better than any billboard.
Key Takeaways
- Verify, do not trust: every California lawyer’s license status and discipline history is public on the State Bar website.
- Trial record is the price lever: insurers price your case partly on whether your firm actually tries cases.
- Know who works the file: a rainmaker who signs you and a case manager who runs you are two different firms.
- The fee must be in writing: Business and Professions Code 6147 requires it, states the rate, and makes it negotiable.
- You can change your mind: California lets you switch lawyers mid-case without paying two fees.
Free Case Evaluation – No Fee Unless You Win
If you are comparing firms, bring these questions to a free consultation with Feher Law and put our answers on the record. Call (310) 340-1112 – You pay nothing unless we win.
| Question to Ask | What a Good Answer Sounds Like | How to Verify |
|---|---|---|
| How many jury trials to verdict in the last 5 years? | Specific numbers and case names, without flinching | Verdicts are public; firms publish them |
| Who will personally handle my file? | A named attorney you meet, not “the team” | Ask to meet them before signing |
| Any State Bar discipline history? | A clean record, or a candid explanation | Free lookup on the State Bar site |
| What are your recent results in cases like mine? | Comparable injuries, real amounts | Published results and legal press |
| How does the fee work? | A written agreement with the rate stated | Business and Professions Code 6147 requires it |
| Will you try my case if the offer is short? | Yes, and here is the last time we did | Trial record answers this |
| Are you active in the profession? | Bar associations, publications, speaking | Organization rosters are public |
Start With the State Bar: License and Discipline in Two Minutes
Before any consultation, run the lawyer’s name through the State Bar of California attorney search. It shows license status, admission date, and the full public discipline history: reprovals, suspensions, and pending charges. A discipline record does not always end the conversation, but a lawyer who is not candid about one should. This two-minute check filters more bad hires than every advertisement you will ever see.
While you are there, note the admission date. Years in practice matter less than what filled them, which is what the next questions establish.
The Trial Record: The Question That Prices Your Case
Insurance carriers track which firms take verdicts and which always settle, and they price claims accordingly. So ask directly: how many jury trials has the firm taken to verdict in the last five years, and what were the results? Then ask the follow-up that matters just as much: if the insurer’s final number is short, will you try my case? A firm with a real answer changes your settlement leverage, because tools like an offer to compromise under Code of Civil Procedure 998 and the 10 percent prejudgment interest that Civil Code 3291 adds in injury cases only frighten carriers when the trial threat behind them is credible.
Ask too whether the lawyer has handled cases like yours, published in the field, or speaks and holds roles in professional organizations. None of these alone wins a case; together they describe a lawyer the defense takes seriously. We wrote a full comparison of trial-focused versus settlement-focused firms and what the difference is worth.
Talk to a California Personal Injury Attorney
Feher Law has recovered over $170 million for clients across Southern California. Call (310) 340-1112 – Free, no-obligation case review.
Who Actually Works Your File
The most common complaint injured clients have is not about outcomes; it is silence. So ask: who, by name, will handle my file day to day? Will I have that person’s contact? How fast are calls returned? If the honest answer is that a case manager runs the file and a lawyer surfaces at settlement, you have learned what you needed to. There are competent high-volume firms, but you should choose that model knowingly, not discover it after signing.
Ask for references as well, and treat hesitation as data. A firm proud of its client relationships has former clients willing to say so.
The Fee Conversation: Get It in Writing, Because the Law Says So
California does not leave contingency fees to a handshake. Business and Professions Code 6147 requires a written agreement signed by you and the attorney that states the fee rate, explains how case costs affect your recovery, and tells you plainly that the rate is negotiable, not set by law. An agreement that fails those requirements is voidable. The only statutory caps live in medical malpractice, where Business and Professions Code 6146 limits fees against health care providers on a sliding scale.
Ask two specific fee questions: what do I owe if we lose, and how are costs handled? Then read our breakdown of what hiring an injury lawyer actually costs up front. At Feher Law the answer is simple: you pay nothing unless we win.
If You Choose Wrong, You Are Not Stuck
One more thing no billboard mentions: hiring a lawyer is not a life sentence. California clients may discharge their attorney at any time, the change is documented with a substitution form under Code of Civil Procedure 284, and the firms divide one contingency fee at the end, so switching personal injury lawyers mid-case costs you nothing extra. That freedom is also why asking these questions up front matters: the deadline clock, two years under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 and just six months for government claims under Government Code 911.2, keeps running while you choose.
Interview two or three firms. The right one will welcome it.
You Pay Nothing Unless We Win
Our California personal injury attorneys work on contingency – no upfront fees, and the fee terms are in writing before we start. Call (310) 340-1112 – Free, confidential case review.
What to Expect When You Work With Feher Law
- Free Case Evaluation: You speak with our team, we review the crash or incident facts, your treatment, and any offers on the table, and we give you a straight read on the claim’s value. No fee, no obligation.
- Case Investigation: We gather the evidence that drives gross value: scene evidence, vehicle data, medical records, wage documentation, and where needed, accident reconstruction and medical experts. We also start a running ledger of every lien against your recovery.
- Demand and Filing: We present a documented demand to the insurer, and if they will not pay full value we file suit within the two-year deadline under CCP 335.1 so you never lose leverage to the calendar.
- Negotiation and Lien Reduction: While we push the gross number up through discovery and mediation, we simultaneously negotiate every hospital, provider, and government lien down. Both moves raise your net.
- Resolution and Your Settlement Statement: Before anything is final you receive a line-item settlement statement showing the fee, each cost, each lien payoff, and your exact net. Our fee comes only out of the recovery – you pay nothing unless we win.
Why California Injury Clients Choose Feher Law
Thomas Feher, Esq. has taken more than 50 jury trials to verdict, and that trial record is what moves settlement math, because insurers pay real value to firms they know will pick a jury. The results are public: a $20.7 million brain injury verdict against a hotel defendant in July 2026, a $14.6 million verdict in Simone v. Estate of Bruce Jameson for a catastrophic spine injury, an $8.5 million recovery for a T-boned worker, and more than $170 million recovered for California clients overall. Feher Law also treats the back end of the case, lien negotiation and the settlement statement, as part of the representation, not an afterthought, because the firm’s job is your net recovery, not just the headline number. From offices in Torrance and Huntington Beach, the firm serves clients throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County, in English and Spanish. Every case is handled on contingency – you pay nothing unless Feher Law wins for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Talk to a California Personal Injury Lawyer?
Feher Law offers free, confidential consultations – no upfront fees. Call (310) 340-1112 – Find out what your case is worth and what you would actually keep.
Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq. – September 2026
