You’ve seen movies about it and you may have even heard a few stories: The righteous individual who decides to take on the legal system alone, without the help of the attorney. It’s actually more common than you think. The biggest State court, California, reported sixty-seven percent of all cases litigated in this way. Florida reported seventy-three. Though less common at the Federal level, it still occurs almost a quarter of the time. Many personal injury claimants feel that they have been wronged, and justly so. Why should they have to share compensation for loss and suffering with an attorney?

Personal injury attorneys are the legal experts. And the law is far too complex for you to grasp it without having gone to law school. People often wrongly assume that just because they have moral justification, they are legally justified as well. These are two totally different things. Morality has no part in the courtroom. Indignant outrage, blatant facts, all of the things you think will support your case– May or may not even be allowable evidence in the courtroom. Let’s say an ATM camera captured footage of a drunk driver smashing into your car. Easy win right? Wrong. Using that footage requires a very solid understanding of legal theory. You must properly argue for it or your request will be denied.

You don’t know how to do jury selection. Jury selection is tricky, involving a a mix of proper questions, statistical knowledge, and just gut-feeling. Clearly the manner of choosing the jury directly impacts the outcome of the case. We don’t recommend relying on opinions but statistical facts, which vary case-to-case. An attorney would be far better qualified to make this determination.

Even if you have a solid case, the other side will beat you because of superior cross-examination. You might think you’re good in an argument. You might think if you just “hold fast to your guns,” and “say the truth,” that anyone with half a brain will see you’re right. But court doesn’t work that way. Whoever has the most sophisticated and cunning cross-examination strategy wins the day; In ninety percent of all cases. And just because you came in without a solicitor, don’t expect the other side to do the same. Many naive self-defendants have crumbled under the examination of a skilled, legal professional. It’s what solicitors are trained to do.

Questioning the witness. Interviewing the witness is not easy. Remember, they can lie but you can’t accuse them of lying, that’s called “badgering the witness.” You must slowly develop a case that shows your position is more likely to be true than their’s. There have been a number of books written on this art form but the truth is, unless you’ve done it already, there is no way to know you will be successful.

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