The responsibilities of a Charleston SC personal injury attorney are many. When representing their clients they must follow a code of conduct that falls under ethical and professional guidelines that is set forth by the South Carolina bar association. If a person is able to pass the South Carolina bar eamination, they will be able to file ell matters of legal complaints, draft legal documents, argue cases in the state courts, and offer legal advice to victims of South Carolina personal injury.
In order to practice law in South Carolina, a Charleston personal injury lawyer must pass a written bar examination and, in some cases, an ethics examination. The bar examinations can vary on a state-to-state basis. However, most states, including South Carolina require applicants to have completed a four-year college degree and a law degree from an accredited law school. Once admitted to the South Carolina state bar, Charleston personal injury lawyers must remain up-to-date on the latest legal and non-legal developments in their field of practice (personal injury) by completing a required number of continuing legal education courses designed to help Charleston personal injury lawyers stay abreast of all the developments in their chosen field. The number of CLE hours required varies state-to-state.
Many Charleston lawyers take different directions with their careers. Once they have been licensed in the state of SC, they can decide which practice areas and cases they want to take. The South Carolina legal ethics does require that if a lawyer is inexperienced, that they attain the appropriate help and guidance to learn more about the issues in order to represent their client effectively. Many lawyers tend to stick to one practice area of SC law in order to gain the knowledge and experience needed to be successful.
There are many specialized areas of South Carolina personal injury litigation that Charleston personal injury lawyers might choose to focus on. Accidents, medical malpractice, work place injuries, product defects, and many others make up the category of South Carolina personal injury litigation. Personal injury attorneys in South Carolina sometimes will choose a specific area of litigation within personal injury law, so that, they can become an expert in that niche. These may include categories like aviation accidents, trucking accidents, medical malpractice, etc.
Charleston personal injury attorneys, like all other attorneys, can elect to start their own solo practice, partner up with a medium size firm, or join a large practice as an associate and hopefully one day make partner. Their are benefits to clients when enlisting the help of a small one man shop including the one-on-one attention they will receive. Also, many times their fees are lower which is appealing to many people. In the end, the lawyer must choose what’s best for them.