GWC attorney Timothy J. Keiser recently gave a presentation at a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar on personal injury litigation in Illinois.
GWC Shares What Insiders Know
On February 24, 2023, Timothy Keiser spoke at a National Business Institute event entitled “Illinois Personal Injury Litigation: Secrets Only Top Attorneys Know.” His presentation, “Negotiating Injury Claims: Secrets and Insider Tips,” shared some of the insights he has accumulated in his more than twelve years as a personal injury litigator with a focus on construction negligence, insurance bad faith, motor vehicle accident, and premise liability cases.
Tim touched on a wide range of topics during his talk to fellow working attorneys, including:
- “Claims Evaluation Secrets”
- “Tricks to Finding Policy Limits, Adjuster Authority, and More”
- “Establishing and Maximizing Insurance Reserves”
- “Optimizing Demand Letters”
- “Difficult Adjusters and Attorneys”
- “Mistakes Plaintiff Attorneys Do Not Realize They Are Making”
“The legal and insurance industries are large, but not infinite,” he said. “Act like a competent professional the first time and you will be treated as such in the future. Acting like a jerk will get you treated like a jerk. There is no case so valuable that it is worth developing a bad reputation over.”
Empty Threats Are Counterproductive
Tim also emphasized the importance of knowing the case, educating adjusters on the facts of the law, avoiding both oversharing and undersharing, and making promises instead of empty threats.
“Anyone with children knows that empty threats are counterproductive,” he explained. “Nobody cares about a demand, whether it be a policy demand or a monetary demand, that is wholly divorced from reality.
“This is even worse if you include the ‘pay up or else’ verbiage in a demand letter and do not follow through,” Tim added. “By failing to do what you said, you have communicated that you are not a serious person and your threats should not be taken seriously. It’s a bad look in the short term, a worse look in the long run.”
GWC’s Commitment to Legal Education
At GWC, we believe that the practice of law is the practice of a lifetime. Attorneys must continue to hone their craft if they ever hope to make their clients whole again when they find themselves the innocent victims of someone else’s negligence.
To maximize your claim value, whether by settlement or trial, contact the dedicated personal injury and workers’ compensation attorneys at GWC Injury Lawyers LLC.
With more than $2 billion recovered in verdicts and settlements, GWC is one of the premier personal injury and workers’ compensation law firms in Illinois. At GWC, our trial lawyers have the experience, determination, resources, and reputation you need to help get you and your family the justice you deserve.
Schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation with one of GWC’s trial lawyers today. You may call our office at (312) 999-9999 or click here to chat with a representative at any time.