The lawyer you get from a lawyer referral hotline is often just the next lawyer on their list to be referred out, not the best lawyers in Virginia for handling your specific legal needs. While you may get a personal injury lawyer, you won’t be guaranteed he or she knows how to handle the type of accident or injury for which you’re seeking compensation.
A hotline typically has callers identify their legal need, and that’s all they need to give you the name of a lawyer that can take your case. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It is, and that’s the scary part -- it’s TOO simple. Hiring lawyers is a serious matter that should not be taken care of with a phone call to an automated referral system. If you’re pressing 3 for a lawyer, you’re not doing yourself any favors.
To be listed on these hotlines is not saying that a particular lawyer is one of the best lawyers in Virginia. This is not a prestigious place to be mentioned; it is just another form of lawyer advertising. Lawyer referral hotlines usually are nothing more than lists of attorneys who pay to be there so their names come up every hundred or so calls.
If you really want to make sure that you’re getting dedicated legal advice specific to your case, do the work yourself. No one knows your legal needs better than you do, so you are the one who should contact lawyers.
