Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog
If you have been injured in a car or truck accident in Maryland, it is easy to find a lawyer to take your case. Just about every general practice lawyer in the state handles auto accident cases to some extent, and can usually do a good job. But sometimes these lawyers get involved in cases that can’t be settled, and they may not have the experience or resources to take the case to trial.
That’s where we come in. We get involved in a lot of cases as referrals from other lawyers under Rule 1.5 fee-sharing agreements. The referring lawyer can stay as involved in the case as they wish- it can be a straight referral, or they can stay in the case through trial.
The best way for you to find out about what co-counseling with M&Z is like is directly from one of our referring lawyers. Here’s what one of our referring lawyers had to say about a case that we got involved in about 60 days before trial:
I have a general practice law firm and I also do personal injury work, mainly auto accidents. I have tried a number of District Court cases but I had never done a personal injury jury trial in the Circuit Court. I had an auto accident case that had to be brought in the Circuit Court. I was hoping that after discovery, etc. I would receive a reasonable offer from the defendant to settle the case since liability seemed pretty clear; a rear-end case. However, the defendant was a self-insured taxi company and, probably sensing my inexperience in the Circuit Court, would not make any offer to settle. At that point, I decided to contact Miller & Zois to see if I could get them to co-counsel with me on the case. Even though it was late in the game, I received a call promptly from Attorney John Bratt. Miller & Zois then agreed to co-counsel with me and they gave me the option to stay involved or let them take over all the way. I chose to stay involved. It was a great learning experience for me.
Mr. Bratt is an excellent attorney and a great teacher. I was pleased with the way he handled the case, his willingness to share his knowledge and to explain the rationale behind the things he did. I was also impressed with the way he took the time to understand the case, his timeliness in appearances before the Court (he was always early, never just on time) and his composure and delivery in Court. His approach to the case was to present our strongest evidence for damages and avoid presenting evidence that would sidetrack the jury and weaken our case.
Just before trial the Defendants’ attorney, a good defense attorney, predicted that “on our best day we could not recover more than 2 times specials” when I replied that stranger things have happened; he said “stranger things may happen; but not in Montgomery County Circuit Court.” When the jury returned a verdict for our client for almost 6 times the specials; you could have heard a pin drop in the Court room. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the outcome and with my decision to co-counsel with Miller & Zois, and in particular, for the excellent work and skills of Mr. Bratt. I would recommend Miller & Zois highly to any attorney that may need assistance in a personal injury matter.
Elton F. Norman, The Norman Law Firm, PLLC
So if you find yourself needing experienced trial counsel for a car or truck accident case, consider contacting our law firm. We are happy to review referral matters from other attorneys.