What Makes a Good Lawyer?

“What makes a good lawyer?”

I get asked this question from time to time. There can be many answers to it (or ask ChatGPT). But one answer can be
a recent story from the firm.

We recently represented the wife of a gentleman who — as a pedestrian — was struck by a vehicle. Tragically, he did
not survive.

We began our investigation into the case, and learned two unfortunate facts early on. The driver of the vehicle only
carried SR-22 coverage, not car insurance, so there was no coverage for this incident and our client did not own a
vehicle to carry uninsured insurance coverage.

Of course the driver of the vehicle did not have any assets. At this point, there really was not much money we could
obtain for our client; no insurance money, and the defendant did not really have any assets we could go after
either.

So, what can we do in this situation? Our job is to find maximum compensation for our clients. We were able to come
up with a creative solution to at least get them some compensation.

The driver of the vehicle’s SR-22 coverage attorney reached out to our office about filing a Declaratory Action in
court.

After discussing with counsel for Defendants SR-22 insurance, we were able to convince them to take the money they
planned to file a Declaratory Action in court, asserting that they had no insurance coverage for this incident and
just use it to pay our client a settlement.

We took no fee to help the family.

In the grand scheme of things, it was not much. It certainly did not compensate the family fairly for their tragic
loss. But it was the best-case scenario in this situation. And taking no fee here was absolutely the right thing to
do.

So, what makes a good lawyer? I could rattle off a dozen qualities that I would look for in a lawyer, but one is
always more important than the rest. And I can put it in two simple words.

Do good.

My team and I will always fight for justice. That’s the easy part. Most decent lawyers can say that. The best lawyers
do so, in order to do as much good in the world as they can.

Gary Burger

Founder | Injury Attorney
Gary Burger has dedicated his career to standing up against bullies. The founder and principal attorney of Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer has helped hundreds of Missouri and Illinois individuals and families recover th …
Years of experience: 30 years
Location: St. Louis, MO

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