Thursday, March 31, 2011

Lawyers Refer Your Personal Injury Cases to Attorneys That Are Members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum

referral.jpgPortner & Shure litigates large personal injury cases for lawyers who do not have the experience and/or resources to handle complex personal injury cases. Insurance companies now use the Colossus system when evaluating the amount they pay on claims. One factor in their equation is whether the law firm they are up against litigates cases. If your firm does not the claim will not be offered fair value.


At Portner & Shure we have injury lawyers who have litigated hundreds of jury trials and judge trials throughout most jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia. In fact, Mr. Portner is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Mr. Ruby has also obtained million dollar verdicts in injury cases.



If you refer a case to our firm you can remain in the case and therefore still collect a fee. Very few personal injury attorneys have the experience our lawyers have in litigating wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases. In our experience, top value is often not given until we put our larger cases in suit. Hence, if you have a serious injury case, our advice is not the settle the case prior to litigation. In fact, if you add the additional compensation you obtain after placing a case in suit, and then for adding a well known litigation firm on the file, it really makes sense to refer the large injury cases to Portner & Shure. Therefore, if you are an attorney with a serious personal injury case, call or contact our law firm.


How to Find the Best Lawyer For a Personal Injury Case in Maryland or Virginia

million $ adv.gifIf you asked me ten years ago how people find the best lawyer in Maryland or Virginia for personal injury cases I may have said that a lot of folks try the yellow pages. As a result, Portner & Shure placed advertisements on many of the covers of these phone books, and even had numerous full page advertisements. We still run these ads but hardly anyone calls from them.


The truth is people now find the best lawyers for serious personal injury cases in two different ways. First, by word of mouth from prior clients of personal injury law firms. We now post testimonials of our results on our website. We do not do it to brag, but to let the public know that our injury clients are satisfied with both the service and the results. Second, people now search the internet to find the best personal injury lawyers.



When searching on the internet for a good injury lawyer review the cite. Look at the testimonials, look at the trial and settlement awards received. Next, look at the organizations the attorneys belong to. For example, Mr. Portner as a result of his advocacy skills, is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members. The internet is now a fun shopping tool and, if used correctly, a helpful tool when searching for a Maryland or Virginia personal injury lawyer.


When looking at injury lawyer cites, weed out the injury lawyers that don't post trial awards. Many of these firms don't litigate cases. An injury attorney cannot be as aggressive with an insurance company if he or she doesn't ever step in the court room. Furthermore, the insurance companies use the internet too. If you can figure out that an injury lawyer rarely or never goes to court, they certainly can. The carriers all keep track now of the tendencies of Maryland and Virginia personal injury attorneys.


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Maryland Legal Blog Listing

Legal Blogs are used by the attorneys at Portner & Shure to update clients and prospective clients on the changes in the law, as well as to give insight into what transpires in the courthouses throughout the State of Maryland. Other firms seem to use blogs simply as a means to get their name on the internet, and provide no useful content. One such firm has several blogs that focus on the same subject but have slight variations in their titles. Their blogs kind of remind me of chicken. There are hundreds of different ways to prepare it but it is still chicken.



Our firm's blogs focus on specific practice areas and languages. Below is a list of our blogs:


Maryland Car Accident Blog


Maryland Criminal Lawyer


Maryland Work Injury Lawyer


Spanish Speaking Lawyer in Maryland


Chinese Accident Lawyer in Maryland


Korean Accident Lawyer in Maryland


Here are some others:


Maryland Accident Attorney Blog (Silverman | Thompson | Slutkin | White)


Maryland Accident Lawyers Blog (Saiontz & Kirk)


Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog (Lebowitz & Mzhen)


Maryland Lawyer Blog (Miller and Zois)


Maryland Accident Lawyer Blog (Miller and Zois)


Maryland Auto Accident Lawyer Blog (Miller and Zois)


Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog (Miller and Zois)


Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog (Miller and Zois)


Maryland Injury and Disability Law (Greenberg & Bederman)


Medical Malpractice & Patient Safety Blog (Patrick A. Malone)


Maryland Personal Injury Attorney (Steven H. Heisler)


Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog (Lebowitz & Mzhen)


Washington DC Injury Attorney Blog (Kenneth J. Annis & Associates)


Maryland DUI Lawyer Blog (Bruce M. Robinson)


Maryland Criminal Attorney Blog (Silverman | Thompson | Slutkin | White)


Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer (Dever & Feldstein)


Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog ( Andrew G. Slutkin)


Baltimore Criminal Defense Attorney Blog (Law offices of Todd K. Mohink)


Maryland Criminal Lawyer Blog (Law Offices of Richard P. Arnold)


Maryland Lawyer Blog


Maryland Personal Injury lawyer Blog


Baltimore Criminal Law Attorneys Blog (Law Offices of James E. Crawford, Jr. & Associates)


Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer (Price Benowitz)


Maryland Law Blog (Alpert Schreyer)


Maryland Injury Lawyers Blog (Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester, LLC)


Maryland Injury Attorney Blog (Jeff Butschky)


Maryland Injury Attorneys Blog (Brassel Law Group)


Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog (Lebowitz & Mzhen)


Maryland Accident Law Blog (Lebowitz & Mzhen)


Maryland Malpractice Lawyer (Alan J. Belsky)


Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog


Maryland Law Blogger (Raymond McKenzie)


Maryland DUI Defense Lawyer Blog (James Guillory)


Maryland DUI Lawyer (Price Benowitz LLP)


Maryland DUI Attorney Blog (Silverman | Thompson | Slutkin | White)


Maryland Criminal, Traffic and Injury Blog (David R. Waranch)


Maryland Personal Injury Blog (John R. Foran)


Maryland Injury Blog (Foran & Foran)


Maryland Law (J. Cannan)


Maryland Malpractice Lawyer Blog (Dever & Feldstein)


Maryland Lawyer Blog (Carey & Associates)


Maryland Injury Lawyers (Maryland Injury Lawyers)


Maryland Lawyer Online (Alan J. Belsky)


 


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Department of Justice Seeks to Protect People Who Speak Korean, Chinese and/or Spanish

dept of justice.jpgA few months ago the Department of Justice's civil rights division advised the nation's courts to have interpreters available for free at all criminal and civil proceedings and beyond the courtroom, including detention facilities, anger management classes and parol offices. The letter also cited several specific failures. One important instruction from the DOJ was that any court that receives federal funding is subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which requires access for all individuals regardless of their national origin. This requirement also includes offering services to limited proficiency speakers.


Too often people who speak Spanish, Korean and/or Chinese face clerks who are unaware of available services or indifferent to the needs of those who speak limited English. Many times outdated versions of translated forms are used. In some cases, Spanish, Korean and/or Chinese people are told they must pay for interpreters. In rare cases, people who can't speak English are treated rudely by court personnel. The Maryland Access to Justice Commission, a state body made up of judges and other officials formed in 2008, is investigating language barriers in Maryland's courts and issuing recommendations on how to improve communication. Maryland courts tend to do a good job providing Spanish interpreters at formal hearings, however, there are many procedures and nuances in our courts where no interpreter is available especially for Korean and Chinese people. Basically, there is no type of mechanism to deal with people who don't speak English who come to the courthouse.



This deficiency results from a lack of resources. The state judiciary branch has gone three years without new positions, raises or cost-of-living adjustments to salaries. Under the current budget restraints, hiring and training additional bilingual or Spanish, Korean and Chinese staff is difficult. However, misuse of existing resources, such as CTS Language Link, a telephone translation service also exists and must be addressed. Regardless of the shortcoming of the judiciary branch, non English speaking residents of this county enjoy equal protection of the U.S. Constitution and are entitled to every procedural safeguard the court offers. More importantly, these residents must be thoroughly informed of their rights at almost every step of the judicial process. If you have limited English skills and were charged with a crime or injured in an accident contact one of our multilingual Maryland and Virginia law firm. Our staff speaks Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Korean. Our Maryland lawyers and Virginia attorneys will protect your rights.


Thursday, March 3, 2011

Motorcyclist Killed in Parking Lot Crash in Howard County

motorcycle.jpgThis past Tuesday a motorcyclist was killed when he struck the back of a pickup truck in Jessup in Howard County. Police believe that a mechanical malfunction might have caused the motorcyclist to lose control. The motorcyclist hit a curb and then the truck in the parking lot of Frank's Seafood in Jessup, Maryland. The motorcycle involved was a KTM SMR 525 Enduro. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured. The motorcyclist was, unfortunately, not wearing his helmet. If the accident did occur as a result of a mechanical defect then the motorcyclist's estate can recover damages under a strict liability theory and the motorcyclist's family would have an extremely strong wrongful death claim. However, a strong argument could be made against a wrongful death claim because not wearing a helmet is intervening negligence. Damages recovered in either suit would be limited because the motorcyclist had a duty to mitigate damages by wearing a helmet as required by Maryland law. Also, under a theory of strict liability the negligent party is only responsible for foreseeable damages. A motorcyclist's failure to wear a helmet is not foreseeable. With all this being said motorcyclists are extremely vulnerable to injury or even death as a result of an accident. If you or someone you know was injured in a motorcycle accident contact Portner & Shure's Maryland motorcycle accident lawyers.