How firms are listed

Any North Carolina law firm that meets all of these requirements can be listed. Inclusion is not a rating or an endorsement of legal ability. [Platform] checks the licence and insurance items when a firm joins and once a year; it does not judge or compare the quality of any firm's legal work. You choose which firm to contact, and each firm decides for itself whether to take your claim.

  1. 1

    Every lawyer named on the firm's card is licensed by the North Carolina State Bar, on active status and in good standing.

  2. 2

    The firm carries professional liability (malpractice) insurance of at least $[X] per claim.

  3. 3

    The firm takes diminished value claims from people anywhere in North Carolina, and its own lawyers do the work. A firm that expects to bring in another firm says so on its card.

  4. 4

    The firm shows on its card how its fee is set, in words the firm writes and approves, including what you would owe if there is no recovery.

  5. 5

    The firm takes these claims on a contingency fee: no fee unless your claim is paid.

  6. 6

    The firm acknowledges every application by the end of the next business day. The firm may take the claim, decline it, ask for more information or explain the next step. The firm alone decides which claims it takes. Applying does not mean a firm has agreed to represent you.

  7. 7

    The firm receives applications through [Platform]'s free application form, and contacts applicants directly from then on. Firms never have to buy anything from [Platform] to be listed or to stay listed.

  8. 8

    The firm agrees to the directory's listing terms: keep its card accurate and up to date, explain its fees before you hire it and charge no more than its card says, meet the acknowledgment deadline in item 5, use your application only to respond to you, and keep a contact for complaints. [Platform] will receive complaints about a listed firm and pass them to the firm. [Platform] does not decide legal strategy, the merits of a claim, or whether a settlement should be accepted. This does not replace the State Bar's complaint or fee dispute programs, which are open to every client.

  9. 9

    A firm is removed only if it stops meeting these requirements or breaks the listing terms. [Platform] tells the firm the reason in writing and gives it [14] days to fix it. If a firm's licence or insurance lapses, it receives no new applications until that is fixed. [Platform] never penalizes a firm for declining a claim, for the advice it gives, for the results it gets, for the appraiser it uses, or for not buying anything from [Platform]. A firm may leave at any time. Leaving does not end a firm's duties to clients it already represents.

Wording pending counsel review.

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