About the Firm
This law firm has dedicated itself throughout the years to the representation of injured and illegally wronged individuals. The firm does not represent insurance companies or corporate interests. The primary focus has been on mining accidents, wrongful death, personal injury, car/truck wrecks, defective products, personal and consumer fraud, workers' compensation, and industrial accidents. There is no fee for an initial consultation, and the firm averages at least 20% of its total time to pro bono advice, consultation, and representation.
In the early years of Jimmy King's first law firm, Wilson & King, a decision was made to deliver high-quality legal service to those who were not able to afford it. This commitment has carried forward to The King Firm. Many hours of legal work are performed by our lawyers each year, for which no fee is ever charged.
Throughout the years, the firm has obtained numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and multi-million dollar settlements. With the addition of Alternative Dispute Resolution techniques (ADR), the firm has been an innovator in this area and has mediated hundreds of cases successfully from 1995 to the current date. The use of videography, computer animation, and highly trained and qualified expert witnesses has created a success rate at mediation of 95%.
The King Firm utilizes state-of-the-art technology to provide superior legal services to our clients. Attorneys and staff members have access to voice mail, electronic mail, the Internet, presentation software, audio/visual technology, and computer-aided presentation graphics.
The lawyers in this firm have pioneered the use of videography presentation in the mediation process and produced a videotape presentation of our client's case in almost every settlement mediation process. We also utilize electronic services for legal research in order to provide our attorneys with needed information in the most efficient, economical manner possible.
The King Firm's attorneys are actively practicing in most counties of Alabama, including Walker, Marion, Winston, Fayette, Cullman, Tuscaloosa, Morgan, Jefferson, Lamar, Colbert, Lauderdale, Etowah, Limestone, Pickens, Marshall, St. Clair, Blount, Shelby, Greene, and Montgomery. They also practice in the Federal Court in Alabama and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
James C. King, Senior Partner
Henry C. Wiley, Of Counsel
Justin L. Jones, Trial Lawyer
Judge John L. Madison, In Memory, 1947 - 2006
What to Expect
Whether you are already a client of ours or just considering our firm to help you with a problem, the pages in this section are intended to give you a better understanding of the litigation experience.
Our Role
At The King Firm, our role is to take care of your legal needs and protect your legal rights. When we are working on your case, we put our entire effort and attention into this process, as we do for all our clients. For this reason, we may not always be available to take a call when you need us. However, each lawyer has one or more legal assistants, one of whom is completely familiar with your case. If the lawyer handling your case is unavailable when you need them, ask for the legal assistant handling your case. If they cannot fulfill your needs, they will get you and your attorney together at the earliest possible moment. If your need is not urgent, you might want to consider sending your request by email. (The email address of each attorney and his or her legal assistant is located in their profile) If your request is sensitive, we will call you with the answer.
Your Role
It is impossible to remember everything your lawyer has told you that you can do to preserve your rights as the case continues through the system, so we have provided much of the more important general information in this section. Feel free to come here as often as you like to refresh your memory and to better understand the process.
What to Expect
Whether you are suing someone or being sued, a lawsuit is a complicated legal process, and it can be full of unpleasant surprises and frustrating delays. Don't forget, there are at least two parties to every action, and that means the scheduling and the events which take place can be out of our hands. Nonetheless, some things happen in the same order in most litigation, and you can at least get a general idea of what's likely to happen.
You will begin with an initial, no-cost interview with one of our lawyers, who will evaluate your complaint to determine if there is a "cause of action," sometimes referred to as "grounds." Simply put, this means there is a legal basis for filing a lawsuit. The attorney will then explain your options to you.
If a lawsuit is filed, there are several things you will be called on to do and much behind-the-scenes work to be done by your attorney and legal assistants.
How Long Will It Take?
A lawsuit can be time-consuming. They can last from a few months to several years. There is really no way to predict in advance how much time it will take. Since the law firm is financing the cost of your litigation, we are motivated to move your case along as quickly as possible.
Because your case may last awhile, we are providing this website as a vehicle to help keep you informed. You can make an inquiry anytime by submitting an email request to the legal assistant handling your case.
Interrogatories
Interrogatories are a set of written questions that must be answered by a party to a lawsuit. The party must swear, under oath, that the answers are accurate to the best of his or her knowledge. Unlike a statement, these are specific and detailed questions.
Interrogatories can delve into all aspects of your case, including family finances and your personal life. Your lawyer and his or her legal assistant will help you answer your interrogatories, but you will have to supply most of the information to them. You are usually sent a copy of the questions with a request to pull together all that you can, then meet with your attorney or staff to prepare the final answers.
The answers to interrogatories are sometimes used during a trial to impeach your testimony. For example, if you give an answer to a question in trial and your answer is different from that which you gave to the same question in interrogatory format, it could lead the jury to doubt your honesty.
Depositions
A deposition is the sworn testimony of a witness taken before a trial held outside the court with no judge present. The witness is placed under oath to tell the truth, and lawyers for each party may ask questions. The questions and answers are recorded and/or transcribed. When a person is unavailable to testify at trial, the deposition of that person may be used. Depositions are part of the pre-trial discovery (fact-finding) process.
Depositions are sometimes videotaped. In some instances, they are also tape-recorded as part of a video conference. In a video conference deposition, some of the attorneys may be in another city or state and question the witness's over a live video hookup.
Your attorney will help you prepare for this process.
Mediations
Mediations are sometimes confused with arbitration. Arbitration is a process where an arbitrator, usually another disinterested lawyer, will hear all the facts informally. Like a judge, the arbitrator then makes a final decision based on what he or she considers most fair to all parties. The arbitrator's decision is final, with no appeal.
A mediation, on the other hand, is not binding on any party. It is an attempt to lead each party to a settlement agreeable to all parties involved. A mediator, again usually an experienced lawyer, will coordinate an orderly exchange of information, offers, and counteroffers until there is an agreement or until all sides agree that there can be no agreement. The case then usually proceeds to trial and possible appeals. Mediation usually lasts no more than a day but occasionally continues for days or weeks with settlement exchanges made through the mediator.
This law firm pioneered the use of video presentations in mediation and is the only law firm in Alabama that we know of that produces a video for almost every mediation.