When looking for legal representation, you need to understand that picking the wrong attorney can be devastating and have long-lasting ramifications.
Unfortunately, in today’s world it is easier to pick the wrong attorney than the right one. Tactics like billboards, Google Ads, and TV commercials can sway people into thinking that the number of advertisements is equal to the level of expertise of the attorney.
This is simply not true. When looking for legal representation following a catastrophic injury or the wrongful death of a loved one, finding the right lawyer for your case is serious. The people marketing on tv or on busses may be the most familiar names, but how do you know you can trust them?
When looking for an attorney after a semi-truck or commercial motor vehicle accident, don’t rush into a decision about who to hire. Do your homework. There are plenty of good personal injury lawyers who, while well meaning, simply do not have the expertise to take on complicated truck accident cases. There are also unscrupulous lawyers out there, some of whom will employ tactics that can make the trucking company antics pale by comparison.
You need to find someone who is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and experienced, who has a proven track record, and who has a good reputation. Above all, you need to hire a person you feel comfortable with.
Finding the Right Lawyer for Your Case
Not all lawyers are equal when it comes to representing victims of truck wrecks. Expecting a general practice lawyer to handle your truck accident case would be like going to your family doctor and expecting them to do a heart transplant. Even while a personal injury attorney may be proficient at handling car wrecks, slip and fall cases, and medical malpractice, they may not have a lot of experience with trucking accident cases like yours.
You are going to need someone who has the specific and unique qualifications to make sure your rights are protected and that you receive everything you are entitled to from the trucking company. You need an attorney who has a track record of successfully handling cases like yours. This will likely take some research. The first attorneys you come across, or the ones who approach you, could be bad for you, your family, and your case.
Beware of the Unethical Lawyer
Unfortunately, there are unethical lawyers who prey on victims of commercial motor vehicle wrecks. Injury attorneys get paid a percentage of what the victim’s family recovers. Because these cases have the potential for recoveries in the millions or even tens of millions of dollars, the accompanying attorney fees can also be significant. As a result, some lawyers are willing to lie or otherwise violate the rules of professional responsibility to which all lawyers are ethically bound.
Attorneys and Ethics
Every state has rules of professional responsibility. In order to practice law, every attorney must take an oath to follow these rules. You must stay clear of these lawyers who are willing to violate the rules of ethics to get you as a client. If they are unethical enough to break a rule they swore to uphold, they certainly may be willing to put their own interests above yours through lying or other means.
Personal Client Solicitation
Never hire an attorney you do not know who personally solicits business on your case. Personally solicited business, either direct or indirect, is unethical and against the code of ethics.
Despite this fact, there are attorneys who are willing to violate these rules, engage in unethical behavior and lie to get a case. The bigger the case, the more likely you are to find this behavior. Although there are only a few attorneys who would do this, these few give all attorneys a bad name. Even worse, because the general public doesn’t know that this outrageous behavior is considered unethical, people continue to hire these attorneys.
Every state has some version of a rule that prohibits lawyers from soliciting a victim of a truck wreck, either in person or through another working on his behalf.
The Missouri rule, for example, was issued by The Missouri Supreme Court in the Order of September 19, 2005. Section 4-7.3 Direct Contact with Prospective Clients provides:
This Rule 4-7.3 applies to in-person and written solicitations by a lawyer with persons known to need legal services of the kind provided by the lawyer in a particular matter for the purpose of obtaining professional employment.
Section 4-7.3 (a) explains the rules surrounding various kinds of solicitation of prospective clients:
In-person solicitation. A lawyer may not initiate the in-person, telephone or real time electronic solicitation of legal business under any circumstance, other than with an existing or former client, lawyer, close friend or relative.
In Addition, Section 4-7.3 (b) explains that sending representatives, like “runners” is also not permitted:
A lawyer shall not send, nor knowingly permit to be sent, on behalf of the lawyer, the lawyer’s firm, the lawyer’s partner, an associate or any other lawyer affiliated with the lawyer or the lawyer’s firm, a written solicitation to any prospective client for the purpose of obtaining professional employment.
The reason for these rules is to protect the victims and their families who are injured or grieving over the loss of a loved one. These folks are more vulnerable and can potentially be more easily persuaded or coerced by the attorney or person acting on their behalf.
Nearly every family dealing with a catastrophic case gets approached by attorneys who attempt to improperly sign the family up as clients. Many times, people are approached in the hospital by “runners” who deliver the police report to the family with the business card of a lawyer. Commonly, people will receive text messages and phone calls from lawyers attempting to get the case.
The worst instance of personal solicitation our firm has seen was following a serious truck accident in Missoui that left the victim, our client, in a coma. Her husband went to the hospital every day to sit by her side, hold her hand, and pray for her to regain consciousness and come back to him. He got up during one of these visits to get a cup of coffee and was approached by a gentleman offering condolences.
When the husband asked the stranger how he knew his wife, the man said, “I was in the air ambulance helicopter with her and I prayed for her during the entire flight from the accident scene to the hospital. I held her hand the whole time and I just wanted to tell you that I’m still praying for her and for you.” The runner lied to our client’s husband and told him that he was an air paramedic and that he had flown in the helicopter with his wife after the wreck. As he was leaving, he pulled out an attorney’s business card and gave it to the husband. He told the husband that the attorney was great and that he should hire him for his wife’s case.
Lead Generation Companies
A lead generation company is a business that generates leads for attorneys. The number of lead generation companies and the amount of money that they are putting into the marketplace has grown dramatically within the past couple of years. Yet I believe we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. The amount of money coming from venture-capital-backed lead generation companies or law firms is about to explode. Some lead generation companies have no attorneys working for them. They are simply marketing companies. Others are law firms, but the attorneys are simply looking to acquire cases and then refer them out to other attorneys to collect the fees. Some of these businesses simply provide law firms with the names and contact information of potential clients. Some companies provide law firms with signed clients. These companies are separate entities from the law firms. They work with multiple firms. Some lead generation companies sell the same lead to several law firms within the same market. Others sell the lead to just one law firm within a market.
These companies are not law firms. They are marketing companies that attract clients by online ads, television ads, radio ads, and through other companies. Their companies are particularly good at marketing campaigns. They obtain business, then sell the business to whichever law firm chooses to pay them. The problem is that these companies don’t vet the law firm they sell the leads to. Instead, they sell to whoever wants, and can afford, to pay for the leads.
A normal Google search for the best truck wreck accident attorney in Missouri could result in two of the top five listings being lead generation companies. These companies spend a lot of money optimizing search engines and buying pay-per-click ads to make sure that when someone tries to do their own research, they will stumble across their website. Some of the lead generation ads are deceiving and appear to be attorney ads, when in reality there are no attorneys working at that company. What is concerning is that a person clicking on one of these ads and visiting the website will have no idea that the people they are contacting are not lawyers at all. Instead, they will be providing information to a company that will sell the information to a law firm.
This is not the way to pick an attorney. Don’t turn your decision over to a marketing company that only cares about selling your case, especially when it is this important. You need control over picking an attorney that is qualified and makes you feel supported. A lead generation company may sell your case to a good law firm, or they may sell your case to a firm that is not the right law firm for your case. Be careful when researching a law firm to make certain that you are actually investigating a law firm.
Picking a Good Attorney Requires Informed Decision-Making
Picking an attorney by one of these methods may not mean that your legal matter is doomed—but it might. The more important the legal issue or case is, the more effort you should use to be sure that you select the right attorney. Picking an attorney from the following options is the wrong way and may have a devastating result on you and your family.
To learn more about the deceptive marking practices in the legal field, and how to sort through the noise in order to find the right attorney, check out David W. Craig’s book It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney. The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com, or you can download the book for free off the Craig, Kelley & Faultless Website. For more than 25 years, David has been the managing partner at Craig Kelley & Faultless, which specializes in truck accidents and other commercial motor vehicle wrecks.
David’s commitment to the field of semitruck litigation and to crash victims has led him to take on many advocacy projects. He is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families and It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney, both written to help people navigate what comes next after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc. David sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, a testament to his expertise in the field.
Craig, Kelley & Faultless is a personal injury law firm handling semi and other truck accident cases in St. Louis, Missouri, and throughout the nation. The firm has lawyers licensed in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. These experienced lawyers have dedicated their careers to helping victims and their loved ones involved in commercial vehicle wrecks through every aspect of their case. The firm also has a rapid response team that works with investigators, reconstructionists and mechanics who immediately collect evidence as soon as the firm is hired. As David has said, “We don’t just handle truck accident cases. We specialize in these cases.”
The Craig, Kelley & Faultless St. Louis office is located at 5585 Pershing Ave Suite 110, St. Louis, MO 63112, available by appointment only. Reach out for a free case consultation at (314) 367-2661or visit https://www.ckflaw.com/st-louis/.
Our Missouri attorney Christopher M. Barry was included in 2026’s edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, reflecting his professional reputation and results. Chris believes that the civil justice system—particularly the right to a jury trial—plays a critical role in holding negligent parties accountable. He represents injured individuals exclusively and is committed to helping clients navigate difficult circumstances with clear guidance, responsiveness, and strong advocacy.
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin