The internet has made researching your injury lawyer online much more straightforward. There are detailed online lawyer directories, state bar association websites, and even national federal databases of attorneys available for the public to use for free.
Using Online Directories for Researching Your Injury Lawyer Online
Geo-targeting online professional directories (like this one) are an excellent source for putting together a shortlist of injury lawyers in your area. You can search for attorneys based their on location, practice areas and, in some cases, learn more about each firm all in one place.
Online injury lawyer legal professional directories may also include more information on how to choose a lawyer and other important information.
Using State Bar Association Websites for Research
The first step in researching your injury lawyer online is to visit the State Bar Association for the state in which you currently live (or in the state where you need to retain an injury lawyer). The State Bar website will typically have the latest information available for the attorneys licensed to practice in their state.
Certain state bar associations have more information available online than others. The Maryland State Bar website, for example, allows you to search by attorney's name. The results show their attorney number, name, address, city, zip code, contact number, and status. The status field shows whether they're active, inactive, retired, suspended, or other pertinent information.
The Pennsylvania State Bar website lets you search by attorney name, attorney ID, city, or county. This site also lets you see the attorney's status (active, inactive, deceased, disbarred, etc.) Additionally, the Pennsylvania website shows disciplinary history, including the actual disciplinary orders in the record.
In addition to online searches, most of these state bar websites include a contact number if you need more information.
Using National Directories for Researching Your Injury Lawyer Online
The US Department of Justice maintains a list of currently disciplined attorneys. The list contains recent updates at the top and is presented in alphabetical order. Clicking on the date link in yellow will give you more information regarding the disciplinary action against the attorney.
There is also a page on the website containing a list of previously disciplined attorneys. The list shows the attorney's name, city and state, date of immediate suspension imposed, the sentence (discipline itself), effective start date, and whether or not they are reinstated.
Take the Time to Research
Research is your friend when researching an injury lawyer online. Take the time and effort to select the best injury lawyer to represent you in your case.