Tips for Everyday People: Hiring an Attorney

Let’s be honest: Most of us aren’t legal experts. We haven’t studied the attorneys’ code of ethics, taken the bar exam, or argued before a jury.

However, most of us will, at some point in our lives, need to hire a lawyer.

To hire an attorney, you don’t need to be a legal expert — you simply need to know how to identify one. You’ll need to take a deep dive into an attorney’s qualifications, ask the questions that matter, and make a decision that could affect the rest of your life.

This isn’t a process that should be taken lightly, which is why attorney David W. Craig wrote a how-to guide for anyone searching for legal help, titled It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney.

Don’t just roll the dice. Do the work, and it will pay off.

Think of it this way. If your child was sick, would you take them to just any doctor? Would you visit a dermatologist for your child’s heart condition, or would you find a reputable cardiologist?

Legal issues are, in this way, similar to medical issues. They can have a lasting impact on your life or the lives of your loved ones. You cannot afford to put them in the wrong hands.

If you have been seriously injured in a vehicle wreck; if you are fighting for custody of your children; if you are facing years in prison for a crime you didn’t commit; etc., doing the work to find the best lawyer for your case will pay dividends.

As author and attorney David Craig put it, “Why roll dice on something that’s really important?”

Ask David: Episode 60 of After the Crash with Abigail Hays

David Craig is the managing partner and a founding member of Craig, Kelley & Faultless, a personal injury and wrongful death law firm.

He authored It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney with Abigail Hays, a licensed social worker who graduated with her master’s degree from Ohio State University.

Abigail is passionate about helping people fight for their rights, and she has experience working with survivors of trafficking, exploitation and other traumatic experiences. While finishing her master’s program, Abigail worked at Craig, Kelley & Faultless, answering phone calls and assisting around the office.

She and David discussed It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney during a recent episode of After the Crash, David’s free podcast. Ranked the third-best personal injury podcast by FeedSpot, After the Crash educates and empowers listeners.

Abigail asked David questions about the book, his experience as a lawyer, and what this project means to him during episode 60.

“Maybe it’s time to write a book.”

If someone approaches David with a legal issue, he knows who can help them. After more than 38 years as an attorney, he is familiar with law firms and lawyers throughout the country. Divorce attorneys, estate attorneys, worker’s compensation attorneys, criminal defense attorneys — you name it.

Not only does David know countless other attorneys, but he also knows the qualifications and attributes that distinguish the good from the bad.

It occurred to David that the average, everyday person doesn’t have this information.

Maybe it’s time to write a book, he thought.

Now, in 2025, David and Abigail are releasing It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney. It is not a long book, nor a complicated one. It isn’t written for lawyers — meaning it isn’t full of jargon and legalese that the average person doesn’t know.

When the stakes are high, make the right choice.

Especially after an unexpected tragedy, like a catastrophic truck crash, the stakes are high. If your loved one has been injured or killed in an accident, where do you begin?

“How in the world would you distinguish between a personal injury lawyer and a truck accident lawyer?” David asked Abigail on the podcast. “Most people wouldn’t even know there’s a difference.”

Most people think all injury lawyers are equal, that any one of them can represent any kind of victim. This is not true.

Take commercial motor vehicle wreck cases, for example. Lawyers who specialize in heavy-truck wrecks know that these are quite different from crashes between passenger cars. They must be investigated sooner and more deeply. There may be more parties involved (i.e. the trucking company, shipper, freight broker, insurance company, driver).

And, most importantly, these are different because trucking companies hire aggressive, skilled defense attorneys immediately after wrecks.

To receive the financial compensation you deserve, you must hire the best attorney — and quickly.

Here’s how.

Google searches can be helpful, but they’re not enough.

Quick! Find a personal injury attorney in your state.

Your first stop would be Google or another browser, right? All of us know that if we need an answer to a question ASAP, a quick internet search can yield a satisfactory answer.

This is fine if you’re searching for a recipe or a new pair of sneakers. But when it comes to a legal predicament, you have to look further than that — no matter where you live, what type of lawyer you need, or how urgent you think the situation is.

Here is a list of steps you can take to weed out inexperienced or unreliable attorneys when you begin your search.

In the beginning

• If you know a lawyer, ask them for a recommendation. If not, use the internet to find a list of attorneys who represent cases like yours, in the state where you are located.
• Check out their website. Read about the attorneys. See if the site has a list of resources for clients, like blog articles or informational videos. Are there typos? Is the site easy to use? This may sound trivial, but this website is a reflection of the law firm.
• Reviews, reviews, reviews. Look at the firm/attorney’s reviews on Facebook, Google, Trustpilot, Better Business Bureau, or Yelp. Read what prior clients have said — but also pay attention to how many reviews there are, how old they are, or if they seem “too good to be true” (i.e. only five-star reviews).

You have some options. Now, take a closer look.

Dig even deeper and check out each attorney’s qualifications and awards.

• Board certification Find out if the attorneys are certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in their area of the law (i.e. truck accident law, civil trial law, immigration law, etc.)
• Has this lawyer published books or articles? Do they speak at conferences and seminars?
• Check their status with reputable organizations like Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, The National Trial Lawyers, the American Association for Justice, and others.

You’ve narrowed it to a few lawyers. It’s time to talk to them.

Interviewing an attorney you’re considering hiring is non-negotiable.

There are a few reasons. A lawyer who cares about their clients will make the time to speak with you. A trustworthy lawyer will sit down with you, listen to your concerns, and answer each and every question you have.

It is important that you trust the lawyer, but it’s also important that you like them. Some cases, like personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits, can last years. The attorney you hire should be someone with whom you feel comfortable.

Abigail, in the podcast episode, told David that she learned a lot about attorney-client relationships in her role at Craig, Kelley & Faultless. She sat at the front desk, which is surrounded by attorneys’ offices. From her position, she could hear the way the lawyers spoke to the clients and how they spoke about the clients to one another.

She said it was evident that team members care about their clients. These lawyers become deeply involved in their clients’ lives and will fight tirelessly to help them.

This should be the standard. Don’t settle for less.

Want to know more? Check out these resources.

Everything in this article — and even more — is discussed at length by attorney David Craig in It’s Never Been Easier to Hire the Wrong Attorney, available on Amazon.

To hear from the authors themselves, check out David and Abigail’s episode of After the Crash. Dozens of other episodes are available to listeners for free on YouTube and streaming platforms.

Learn more by following Craig, Kelley & Faultless on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

The attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless are nationally recognized and have helped clients across the country recover from life-altering wrecks. They are prepared to fight insurance companies and motor carriers on your behalf.

For a free case consultation, contact the team at Craig, Kelley & Faultless today by calling (800) 746-0226 or submitting an online form.

 

David W. Craig is a nationally recognized truck accident lawyer who sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. He is board certified in Truck Accident Law. He is the managing partner and one of the founding partners of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers, as well as a Top 50 Indiana lawyer by Super Lawyers. He was the recipient of the National Thurgood Marshall “Fighting for Justice” Award for his work helping victims of truck wrecks. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to help people navigate a terrible situation by answering questions that come 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 Indiana law safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.