Understand first, due to rules that allow personal injury lawyers to advertise, there is a lot of competition for cases. Also, large marketing firms (who are NOT lawyers) spend millions on advertisements to collect personal injury case referrals. They then sell those referrals to law firms that pay them for specific categories of cases. Cases with serious injuries or death and significant insurance proceeds available are regarded as "top-tier" and go to the firms that pay the most for referrals. More minor crashes with soft-tissue injuries may be referred to those paying for "smaller" leads. What this means to the consumer is that they have very little insight as to who will be their lawyer because these firms are simply "brokering" cases to the highest bidder. Even "big-name" law firms with huge advertising budgets are known to "sell off" leads to smaller cases they choose not to keep. Sometimes, the big-name law firm will stay involved on a limited basis so they can collect referral fees, but it is another lawyer outside of the big-name firm that actually does the work on the case. With these confusing arrangments, how can a consumer know and understand if they have competent and skilled representation for their case? This article will help provide a basic overview of important items to understand when selecting a car accident lawyer.