You would think that honesty is important when it comes to hiring a lawyer.
I at least do.
This is why it confuses me when I see the recent rash of misleading billboard advertising that is all over London and other cities. These ads are mainly from Toronto-based law firms that pose as London lawyers.
Across our city, we see billboards that claim London’s Best Personal Injury lawyers will help you. Sometimes they may even state the following bogus claim:
“London’s Top Personal Injury Lawyers”
and it seems to be working for them…
The problem is that these lawyers don’t actually practice in London at all. They have a rented shell office space that functions as a mailbox. So really, these lawyers aren’t in London at all other than for mailing purposes. This then makes their message fairly misleading as they are trying to claim that they are London’s Best.
Another example of question lawyers claims in the well-known adage, “Nothing is Tougher than a Diamond”.
The issue with this claim is within their experience, as it is hard to claim that you are tougher than a Diamond when you have never been in a trial (Read this article below).
https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2016/12/03/diamond-diamond-under-fire.html
This new misleading advertising relies on people calling a 1-800 number. The operator is trained to collect the information and sign up the client. The client ends up signing the documents and unknowingly becomes retained by a lawyer that they have never met, and who does not live or come to London as part of his or her practice.
These lawyers pay top dollar for advertising as it is a numbers game. They understand the algorithms that if they spend this y amount on advertising they will get x amount of calls. These lawyers make money by selling the lead to another lawyer outside of London who is willing to pay for the referral.
Therefore, you think you are being represented by the lawyer that you called, but in reality, you are being pawned off to the highest bidder who will take your case.
Sound sketchy? I am afraid it is.
This is a huge problem because you are paying for your representation, the amount you collect for your injuries is dependent on the hard work and effort your legal team puts in.
You may think you’re paying top dollar for the lawyer you see on every bus stop, billboard and news ad, but you’re really paying for some small law office that is in the basement of a Chuck e Cheese
Here is my advice when hiring a lawyer. Be aware there are people paid to refer you to certain lawyers, your file is valuable to a bunch of people. Always ask someone if they are being paid to refer you.
Also, interview at least 3 lawyers before you make your decision. Strong lawyers want you to be informed and make a good decision. Whereas, others will promise the world to get you signed and deal with your case later.
For more information read my Free Ebook How to Have the Upper Hand When Hiring a Lawyer for more tips on how to protect yourself:
https://millarslaw.com/free-eguides/
Contact us today to speak to a lawyer who has been to court and won’t sell your file. It’s Important.
519-657-1LAW | Info@ml-dev.thirdeyeinsights.ca
