Why You Can Depend On The Brad Hendricks Law Firm!
This Web site tells you about the resources of our firm and the expertise of our attorneys. But there are twoother very important reasons why you can depend on The Brad Hendricks Law Firm thatmay not be obvious. When you hire a firm, you want to hire attorneys who are not only aggressive, but who are ethical and have the respect of their fellow attorneys and the judges before whom they appear. Secondly you want to hire a firm that goes the "extra mile" for you.
If you want your case to get the respect that it deserves, you need to hire an ethical law firm-- one that is respected by the Courts, by other attorneys, and by the public. The Brad Hendricks Law Firm recognizes that our image and our reputation should be carefully guarded in all of our dealings.
Sowhat are legal ethics? Basically the rules of legal ethics are made up of common sense guidelines, though some of the ethical concepts can be rather complex and confusing. Complaints against Arkansas attorneys are filed with the ArkansasSupreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct. The facts are then investigated and considered in light of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which are the rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Arkansas and that set forth the ethical standards by which attorneys are to practice. Violation of the ethical rules may result in letters of reprimand, and temporary or permanent suspension of the lawyer's license.
All of the Rules of Professional Conduct are important, but some of the more important concepts are as follows:
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a lawyer has an obligation to communicate with his or her client and keep them informed;
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in a personal injury matter, where the fee is based on a percentage of the recovery (contingency fee), there must be a written fee agreement;
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lawyers cannot combine or mix monies collected for the client into the attorney's operating fund, but must put the client funds into a proper trust account;
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lawyers must promptly notify the client upon receipt of funds to which the client has an interest;
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lawyers must not represent clients whose interests may conflict;
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lawyers should zealously (within the confines of the law) represent the interests of their clients.
Some of the rules come down to the "Do Right" rule. For example, if a driver and his passenger are involved in a car accident and an argument could be made that the driver was partially at fault, an attorney should not represent both the driver and passenger because there is a potential argument that the passenger has a claim against the driver. An ethical attorney has the obligation to look beyond the fact that he will lose fees by turning down the passenger as a client, and recognize that a conflict may exist and that the right thing to do is to decline representation of one of the parties. All of these situations come down to the question "What is best for my client?" If what is best for one client may harm or diminish the other party, then a potential conflict exists.
All of the attorneys practicing at the Brad Hendricks Law Firm strive to satisfy both the letter and the spirit of the Rules of Professional Conduct. We strongly believe in the "Do Right" rule.
In addition to the importance of hiring an ethical firm, the Brad Hendricks Law Firm works hard to deal with all of the different issues that the client may be presented with. Too often the effects of a personal injury "snowball." Because you are hurt, you can't work. Because you can't work, you can't pay your bills. Because you can’t pay your bills, you get sued or your landlord threatens to evict you. The devastating effects of any injury can go far beyond the physical effects of the injury itself. The Brad Hendricks Law Firm cares about your injuries and also how your injuries have affected you and your family, and we often go beyond the scope of our representation to assist you in other areas of your life that have been affected because of your injuries. Some of the ways that we have assisted our personal injury clients are as follows:
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Entering into agreements with creditors to delay collection on debts until the client's lawsuit is resolved.
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Working to reduce or obtain reasonable payment terms on medical expenses when insurance benefits are not enough to fully cover the client’s loss.
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Assisting our client in obtaining social security benefits through our Social Security Department.
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Helping our client get specialized legal assistance in tax and estatematters.
In a recent case involving a severely brain damaged child our firm was confronted with a case where the physician only had one million dollars in insurance coverage andMedicaid had a lien (legal right to reimbursement) of almost one million dollars. Our firm was able tonegotiate and reducetheMedicaid lien, provide the child and his mother with an accessible home, a van, and funds to be maintained in a"Special Needs Trust" and still retain Medicaid and SSI benefits.
Another way that we help our clients concerns subrogation.Subrogation isa legal or contractual rightto reimbursement. An example would be if you were injured in an automobile accidentand your treatment was paid forby your health insurance or the medical coverage on your car insurance. These insurers might have the legal right to reimbursement from your settlement proceeds of any monies that they paid relating to your injury. Arkansaslaw allows attorneys to charge your insurance company a collection fee for any funds that are repaidto them from a settlement,however, there may exist legal arguments that no reimbursement should be owed, or the amount of reimbursement should be reduced. If your attorney charges the insurance company a fee to collect the reimbursement, this may conflict with his obligations to you to argue that the reimbursement should be waived or reduced. To avoid any appearance of impropriety, the Brad Hendricks Law Firm gives you any collection fee paid by your insurance company, and when appropriate, contests the right of reimbursement. The Brad Hendricks LawFirm passes any fee paid to them for collection of insurance monies on to you. We do not retain a fee for looking after your medical insurer’s interest. Our responsibility is to you.We look out for your best interests. Not all law firms give this fee to their client resolving this potential conflict of interest! Many do not.
While normally the Brad Hendricks Law Firm is retained for the sole purpose of pursing a negligent party, other areas of assistance are often available to you.The Brad Hendricks Law Firm evaluates all of the insurance coverage available to you and may assist you in claiming medical benefits or disability benefits from other sources. Often these other benefits can help soften theeconomic blow of overwhelming bills piling up while your case is progressing.All of these things are part of going the "extra mile" in representing you. While we represent many different clients, we know that to you, your case is the most important one and we try to “walk in your shoes” in order to help you to the very best of our ability.
The Brad Hendricks Law Firm is involved in our community. A number of our attorneys belong to VOCALS, which is a voluntary pro-bono legal organization devoted to providing legal services to people financially unable to hire an attorney. VOCALS serves central Arkansas and member attorneys agree to handle a certain number of cases per year. Some of the types of cases handled by VOCALS include landlord-tenant issues, divorce, preparation of Wills, and legal assistance to the elderly.
Our clients have real life problems. Most have been injured through no fault of their own. Each of our attorneys chose to practice personal injury law because we want to help people who have been terribly wronged obtain justice through our legal system. We contribute to our community in many ways, but most of all by caring about our clients and doing our best to see they get a fair shake from those responsible for their injuries.
