Settlement Attorney vs. Trial Lawyer

Do you want to go to a lawyer that’s what they call a settlement lawyer, or do you want to go to a trial lawyer? Every case that we accept in our office, we intend to try before a jury of your peers or before a judge. The reason being is because we don’t want the insurance company or the other large company that you are against to set the amount of money that you are going to recover. We want you to recover what is fair and reasonable. In my experience, if we can put the case in front of a jury, we can explain to them what your injury is and they will make the decision as to whether your case is worth X or Y.

Typically, the amount the insurance company will set for a settlement case is a lot less than what a jury would award. Now the caliber of lawyer that you hire for this type of case is pivotal. The reason being is that you need to level the playing field between you and the insurance company. We have handled these cases over and over again for decades. We know how the insurance company operates. In fact, I used to work for insurance companies and large companies. Having a lawyer who understands the courtroom and understands the insurance industry is pivotal to you.

Getting to Know Attorney Joe Shannon

I’m one of ten kids. I grew up in a little town called Yakima, Washington. Growing up one of ten kids, I grew up lower on the economic scale, but we grew up rich in love and rich in family. I grew up across the street from a cathedral in Yakima, Washington. I went to St. Paul’s grade school and Carroll High School in Yakima.

I ended up moving to Portland, Oregon, where I ran cross country and track in college. I ended up traveling out to the Midwest to go to Notre Dame for law school. The best part about Notre Dame Law School was that I met my wife there, Michelle.  We have been married since 1990, and we have been blessed with six lovely children: Emma, Clare, Kate, Will, Norah and John.

I went to Notre Dame Law School fully believing that I would be an international lawyer. In fact, I studied in London, England, for a year and learned about international law and comparative law. When I got back to the U.S., I decided that I wanted to be a trial lawyer; I’ve been a trial lawyer since 1988.

For the first eight years of my practice, I represented insurance companies and large companies. I learned from the best. I learned how the system works (how the civil system works). If somebody is injured, they are entitled to compensation. But how much? I learned from the insurance companies about the business side of insurance. How they limit the amount a person recovers and how large companies think.

In 1996, I decided to forge my own path. I decided to represent the little guy. In fact, I wanted to go back from where I came from. It fit my personality better and it fit the way I think a little bit better. I learned that I felt more comfortable in a courtroom walking in sitting next to the person who needed me, not a big large corporation who already had a ton of other lawyers — but one lawyer that represents them and their family and made sure they get justice. 

The Cost Of Hiring The Shannon Law Group

Oftentimes I’m asked, “What’s the cost to hire a lawyer who has been doing this for 28 years?” If you asked me that during the first eight years of my practice, I would have told you a number per hour — whether it’s $250 or $350 per hour. But I’ll tell you know (after I have been doing this for over 20 years) that I’ve decided the best way to represent a person is to be a partner with them. The way we do that is a contingency fee. That means if you don’t win, I don’t get paid.

Our first meeting with you and every other meeting with you is a free consultation. Again, if you do not win, we do not get paid. And if you lose, we don’t get paid either. That makes us indebted to each and every case so we can come through for you. Your interest is before ours at all times. When you come in and make an appointment with us, we will evaluate all of your medical records and all of your other documents and make a decision together — you and me — whether or not you have a case. Again, you will not pay me unless you recover.

A Personal Injury Lawsuit Is More Than Making A Financial Recovery

Your case is not about recovering lost income; it’s not about recovering medical bills. Because who of us work every single to pay medical bills or just for wages? No. The main part of any case is the loss of your normal life — the loss of your relationship with your family, with your wife, with your kids, and the pain and suffering that you have to go through every single day when you have a traumatic injury like this. Those are the type of things your case is about. It’s not just about recovering medical bills or lost wages. It’s about recovering your life. When somebody injures or permanently damages a breadwinner, they take away that person’s whole economy. 

Welcome to Shannon Law Group

We created this website so that you have answers to your questions. If you are looking at this website, I’m sure you are in a stressful situation. You are in a situation that you don’t think you can control yourself and so you are looking for help. We’ve created a number of documents for you and a book for you. It’s free. We want to make sure that if you are evaluating who is going to represent you and your case – which is a very important decision for you and your family – that you have all the information that you need.

The book is free; it’s a free download. Just fill out the form and we’ll send it to you right away. If you would like to call us, we will send you a free copy. We also publish a newsletter. Every month we have a newsletter that goes out to all of our clients and friends, and we try and address all of the legal issues of the day.We are also available for consultation. If you have a problem and you think you need a lawyer, call us. We will set up a consultation with you. We will sit down with you, and we will let you know whether we think we can come through for you.

Why Hire Our Law Firm?

I’m often asked, “What does experience have to do with being a lawyer?” Well, I’ve been doing this for about 30 years, and I’ll tell you that when I’m handling a case I’m using every bit of those years of experience in these cases. A number of things need to be looked at. First of all, we need to look at: What are the goals of the client? Because all we are there to do is to serve you, the client. It isn’t about us; it is never about us. Our firm’s philosophy is serving you the client. We want to make sure you meet your goals, not our goals.

In our experience, we have handled hundreds of cases. We know what type of cases are ones that we can come through for you on. If it’s a case that I cannot come through for you on, I will politely decline to represent you and make sure you get together with another fine lawyer. My job is to make sure that your goals are met — that we meet your expectations and goals, not ours.

Some people ask me, “If you handle my case, is that it? Is it over?” The answer is no. We’ve kept our law firm small for a reason. We want to have a family type atmosphere. I am very blessed to have great employees that work at our firm. They are the best. They are family-oriented, people-oriented, and they are other-oriented. That’s part of what we think about. We want to make sure we come through for you on your case. But when the case is over, we hope that our relationship isn’t over. We want to be your lawyers for life. If you have problems down the road (which we hope you will not), we want you to call us and ask us, “Hey, I have this legal issue. Can you help me with it?” And you know what? If we can’t help you with that, we probably know somebody who can. And that’s our job is to make sure we are not just your lawyers for a transaction, we’re in it for the long haul with you. We want to make sure that you are taken care of the rest of your life. You are part of our family, and we want to take care of you.