The personal injury lawyers at the Schmidt Salida law team offer to work on a contingent fee basis.

How does that work? First of all, the client doesn’t have to pay an hourly fee for the lawyer. The lawyer gets paid only upon producing a settlement. In the meantime, the lawyers contribute to or pay for the cost of the expenses of working up the case, which sometimes can be quite sizable.

It includes collecting medical bills, hiring investigators, and hiring expert witnesses, only to be compensated or reimbursed for those expenses out of the settlement.

It’s a win-win deal for the client, and quite frankly, it provides an incentive for the lawyer to work harder. The lawyer gets paid only when the lawyer produces a settlement, and the larger the settlement, the larger the contingent fee.

It’s a strong, strong incentive, and it works to the benefit of the client and the lawyer.

The most important thing for me as a lawyer is communication. As we’ve talked about with our firm and personally, I do pride myself on being a people person, and that means getting to know people and talk to them. When they come to me, their legal problems are not their only problem, oftentimes, and it has a large effect on their life.

And I always tell people when I’m here I pick up my phone. I answer emails. I even will answer texts, even though they’re not my favorite. It’s important to have communication. People have problems when they come to us, and they’re relying on me. They’ve put their trust and many times their future in what I can help them do, and being honest and communicating with them is the most important thing. And I pride myself on being that as a lawyer, and I think that’s why I get the thank yous I do.

In dealing with underinsured/uninsured motorist cases, you have to understand Minnesota law. Both Joe and I—Joe, my partner, and I—have been involved in working with people on uninsured and underinsured cases since the early 90s. We’ve also both written a lot of articles and been involved in books about the topic.

But basically, what it is, is making sure that you get enough coverage or making sure that you’ve gone through all the possible coverages.

Joe had a case where the person came in with, I think, they believed they had $150,000 in coverage, and when Joe was done, he was able to show that they had $600,000 in coverage. In that particular case, he was able to get all of it.