Everyone is affected, and so you meet everyone!
Personal injury matters are amongst the most frequently litigated. This is unsurprising as they include automobile accidents, and in North America the automobile reigns supreme. What is less obvious here is that this means practising in this area exposes you to a good sample of the general population. Whether you’re a doctor, a teacher, a millwright, a nurse or a janitor, you likely drive a vehicle and are equally susceptible to injury resulting from its use. Contrast this with working in, say, a mergers and acquisitions team, where your odds of retaining someone who resembles even an average individual — not to mention working class — are practically zero. But “who cares?” you may ask. Well, you should care. That is, you should care if you enjoy working with clients from all walks of life.
The impacts of personal injury matters can be profound and your help is sorely needed
In personal injury you provide guidance to people in their most vulnerable of states, and in an area in which they lack familiarity and experience. When the average person is injured in an accident and needs compensation for treatment, they quickly realize that the legal system is opaque, frustrating, and slow. Many people who find themselves wrapped up in the legal system would consider Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” to be an accurate depiction. Even in my limited experience, I have frequently seen the frustration and anguish that ensues. What this means to you as an advocate is that you are uniquely positioned to add tremendous value to someone who is depending greatly on you. This is a privileged position, and one to be taken seriously. The guidance you provide can make the difference in someone receiving the treatment they need to regain some of their pre-accident quality of life, which they desperately crave. When you succeed, your clients’ lives can be significantly changed for the better, and that is deeply gratifying.
During my summer position, I was fortunate to gain exposure to several tribunal hearings, mediations, settlement conferences, calls with opposing counsel, and even a trial. Additionally, I helped draft motions and statements of claim alongside the usual legal research tasks. I have participated in moots during law school and engaged in mediation exercises but nothing compares to the real deal. My close exposure to the litigation process was incredibly humbling and informative. I began to appreciate some of the strategies that seasoned lawyers deploy in these forums, and started thinking more critically about aspects of litigation which law schools seldom address, such as leverage.
The reality of personal injury law practice is that it is most often done in smaller firm settings. Smaller firms are not afraid to — and often may need to — deploy students and juniors on some higher-level tasks from the get-go. If you are eager to learn and take on responsibility, you will have ample opportunity to do so, and quickly. As an aspiring litigator, I appreciate this exposure because I know it will serve me when the time comes to oversee files of my own. Simply put, the more you take on from an early stage, the more quickly you become an independent lawyer.
Law students come in various forms and some of us enjoy social interaction more than others. This is perfectly fine. I spoke with a friend and fellow student recently who described how she enjoys that her position gives her the freedom to work independently. Her work facilitates deep dives into research and does not necessitate frequent meetings with lawyers or clients. If this sounds like something you too would enjoy, then personal injury may not be for you. This is not to say that other areas of law, solicitor work and otherwise, do not require social skills — they invariably do. Nor does this mean that personal injury lawyers do not have opportunities to do deep dives and work independently — they most definitely do. However, if you are seeking an area of law where social acuity often plays a greater role in success, personal injury fits the bill.
Roughly half of a personal injury lawyer’s work consists of interacting with people, be they insurance adjusters, clients, alternative dispute resolution professionals or opposing counsel. Civil litigation is designed to push parties towards settlement, and settlement is achieved through conferences, mediations, pre-trials and just simply getting on the phone with opposing counsel. I have seen personal injury lawyers achieve tremendous success in significant part thanks to their ability to navigate the complex social situations that arise in these mediums. This is a crucial consideration for law students considering the area. If the prospect of frequently interacting with others to find resolutions sounds appealing, know that you will have no shortage of this work in personal injury practice.
From forging strong connections with clients from all walks of life to gaining invaluable hands-on experience, personal injury law has a lot to offer. Assisting individuals through the complexities of the legal system is a challenging but rewarding endeavour. Moreover, the emphasis on litigation and interpersonal skills positions personal injury lawyers as versatile and impactful advocates. For law students seeking a practice that combines legal expertise with meaningful human connections, personal injury law is a great choice.