The pledge our North Carolina law firm makes to our clients is in writing and our staff is fully committed to following these guidelines

This document is our written pledge to all of our clients. No law firm can guarantee the outcome of a personal injury case, but we can guarantee that our attorneys and staff will treat you fairly and ethically, with the utmost respect, and in accord with all the highest standards of the legal profession. Our pledge:

1. Free initial consultation or visit: No potential client shall ever be charged any legal fee for an initial strictly confidential consultation, via email, telephone, or personal visit, regardless of whether you retain us to represent you or not.

2. You act as the boss: We will never settle your case, or act on any offer made without your permission, and before an attorney discusses our view of the value of your case with you. In fact, under our ethical duties as your lawyers, we cannot act on any offer, nor accept any settlement, without your express permission.

3. No attorney fees unless we make a recovery, no attorney fee if no recovery: We realize the hardships caused by an accidental injury, and we guarantee that no attorney fees will ever be collected from a personal injury client unless we recover on your behalf, and, this also means that if there is no recovery, there is no attorney fee recovered either.

4. No "Legalese" Retainer Agreements: We guarantee that our retainer agreement is one typed page, with no legal mumbo jumbo. Some lawyers have five pages of fine print. Not at our law firm.

5. Personal injury is our only business: As our law firm slogan states: "All We Do Is Injury Law". You are hiring a firm that limits its practice to personal injury cases. Many law firms do not specialize in personal injury. Our resources and staff are solely committed to helping injured people., and to learn more about why clients choose our firm, click here.

6. Open Lines of Communication: If at any time you want to discuss your case status with your attorney, all you need to do is ask. Upon request, an in-person visit or phoneconference will be scheduled for a "status of my case" conference. Our open communication policy assures that we will take the time necessary to ensure that any questions are answered to our best ability. Also, we have staff assigned to each and every case to assist in keeping our clients up to date.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and who have achieved numerous successful outcomes for clients. We serve every area of North Carolina, including the Outer Banks, Nags Head and the western mountains, as well as all the cities and counties in between. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. In addition, our firm has the highest rating of AV from national lawyer ranking organization Martindale-Hubbell and were named a North Carolina "Best Law Firm" for personal injury law since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report. That means we have a reputation for demonstrating preeminent legal skill.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer a free, initial confidential injury case consultation, so call us toll free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail and we will return your call promptly.