FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do I look for when hiring a lawyer for a serious personal injury or wrongful death case?

There are many "personal injury" lawyers in Los Angeles, all of whom claim to handle "big" cases. However, it is crucial that you ask tough questions of the lawyer you are thinking of hiring. Look behind the "fluff" of advertising and find out the following:

• How many of these types of cases have you handled?
• What results have you obtained on these cases?
• How many cases have you tried before a jury?
• What is the most a jury has awarded to one of your clients in a jury trial?
• How will you finance the costs of my case?
• How much time and money are you willing to spend on my case?
• How many lawyers will be assigned to work on my case?
• How much experience do the associate lawyers in the firm have?
• What is your firm's reputation with defense law firms who typically represent businesses, corporations, and insurance companies?

Taylor & Ring will give you concrete, specific, honest and compelling answers to these questions. Many other lawyers will simply dodge these questions, probably because they do not have the experience, results, or resources to back up the "fluff" of their advertising.

Why is a lawyer's track record in jury trials important?

A lawyer with a proven record of outstanding results obtained in jury trials will garner more respect from the opposing side, which ultimately will translate into a larger settlement for you. If the defendant's lawyer knows that your lawyer tries and wins many cases, and often "wins big," the defendant company will often pay more than it otherwise would just to get your case settled without the risk of a trial. At Taylor & Ring, many cases settle for a premium before trial because the defendant "blinked first."

Why is it important to know how my lawyer plans on financing the litigation costs associated with my case?

Litigation is expensive. Many lawyers settle cases for less than the true value of the case because the lawyer cannot afford the cost of financing the case through a trial. Expert witnesses, trial exhibits and other items inflate the cost of litigation, but if your attorney is not willing or capable of spending money for those necessary items, he or she is only hurting your chances of obtaining a fair settlement. Taylor & Ring has the financial resources to fully fund your case and spend whatever is necessary to win at trial.

What sets Taylor & Ring apart from other personal injury lawyers?

Experience. Results. Integrity. Intelligence.

We are trial lawyers who command respect from our opponents. While we are compassionate with our clients, we are aggressive litigators who refuse to back down to corporate defendants and their big-firm lawyers. We know the litigation ropes. We know what it takes to find the hidden documents, the reluctant witness, or the most-qualified expert witness.

John C. Taylor and David M. Ring have almost fifty years combined experience practicing personal injury law in Los Angeles. They have been selected multiple times as two of the "Top 100" lawyers in Southern California since 2007 by Los Angeles magazine's Super Lawyers edition. For years they have obtained precedent-setting results in tough, high-profile cases. Their courtroom results speak volumes.

If I have a serious case, does it really matter what law firm represents me? I'm told that the defendant will pay me the same settlement amount relatively quickly, no matter which lawyer I have representing me. Is that true?

Absolutely "yes" to the first question.

Absolutely "not true" to the second question.

Here is an example what sets Taylor & Ring apart from others:

We recently represented an injured motorcycle rider. The defendant offered us a $250,000 settlement offer within the first month of the case, which we rejected. A year later, the defendant offered $1 million just before trial; we rejected that offer also. We took the case to trial and obtained a jury award of $18 million. Ask yourself: Would the lawyer you are thinking of hiring tell you to accept the $250,000 offer? Would he or she be able to aggressively litigate a tough liability case for a year so as to then generate a $1 million offer? And, when faced with that $1 million offer, would your attorney turn it down because he had the confidence in his trial skills to proceed to trial in order to obtain full value for your injuries? And, finally, would he win, and win big?

We only represent injured consumers. Our loyalty is to folks who simply want equal footing in a courtroom when going up against large businesses, well-funded corporations, and big-firm defense lawyers.

Please call us. We want to help you. We want to win your case.