Immediate and Personal Response
Your journey with Castle Legal Group begins with a swift and personal response. Within just 24 hours of your initial contact (likely much faster), an experienced attorney from our team will call to introduce themselves and discuss the specifics of your situation, including the intricacies of your insurance policy and the particulars of your claim.
Limited Capacity — for Better Service
At Castle Legal Group, we are deeply committed to providing each of our clients with exceptional, personalized legal service. This commitment to quality and attention to detail means that we must be selective about the cases we take on. We maintain a limited caseload to ensure that every client receives the focused, dedicated representation they deserve. We cannot achieve this level of service if we are spread too thin across too many cases. We understand the importance of your case and encourage you to provide us with your information. We will carefully review your situation and let you know if we have the current capacity to take on your case and provide the high level of service you need and expect from us. If we cannot take on your case now, we will provide you with the name of a competitor who can assist you.
Why would we refer you to a competitor? Because for those clients we take on, we want to ensure that we provide our absolute best service, by our senior attorneys. Unlike many other firms, we do not hand off cases to junior attorneys who do not have experience working for insurance companies and who have not tried cases. If accepted as a client, you will get the best. Email or provide your contact information to see if we are available to help you. Whether we are available or not to help, we promise that we will get back to you within 24 hours either way.
In-Depth Initial Assessment
During our first interaction, we’ll delve into the essential details: understanding the nature of your insurance policy, gathering basic facts about your claim, and comprehending the challenges you’re facing, be it a disabling condition or property damage. Our aim is to get a clear picture of your circumstances to evaluate how we can best assist you.
Litigation & Aggressive Advocacy
If litigation becomes necessary, rest assured that we are fully prepared to file a complaint to assertively protect your rights and fight for what you’re owed. Our process includes:
Consistent Communication
You can expect consistent communication throughout our partnership. Every Friday morning, you’ll receive an email updating you on the status of your case, and you’ll have access to our client portal to review upcoming dates and documents prepared for your case. Should we receive any settlement offer, you will be the first to know. You can write to us 24/7 for an update on your case and what to expect next.
Accessibility and Transparency
Your questions and concerns are always welcome. We’re here to offer clarity and support every step of the way, ensuring that your voice is heard and your needs are met with the utmost professionalism and care.
Choosing Castle Legal Group means opting for a firm that not only has deep industry knowledge and a track record of success but also values the attorney-client relationship and the trust you place in us. We are here to navigate the legal landscape with you and for you, ensuring that you receive everything to which you are entitled.
Understanding Timelines for Resolution in California Court Actions
When pursuing legal action in California, it’s important for clients to have realistic expectations about timelines for the resolution of court cases. The California court system, much like many others across the nation, faces the challenges of overuse and heavy caseloads, which inevitably impact the speed at which a case can be resolved.
Typically, the courts in California set trial dates approximately one and a half to two years from the date the initial complaint is filed. This timeline can be affected by a variety of factors, including the complexity of the case, the court’s docket, and the strategies employed by both parties during litigation.
At Castle Legal Group, we understand that this waiting period can be a source of stress and uncertainty, which is why we maintain transparent communication about the progress of your case and the factors that might influence its timeline. While we work diligently to expedite your case wherever possible, we also strive to manage expectations and prepare our clients for the realities of the legal process within the California court system.
Rest assured that throughout this period, our team will be actively working on your behalf—conducting discovery, engaging in negotiations, and preparing for trial—to ensure that once your court date arrives, we are ready to advocate forcefully for your rights and interests.
Sample Realistic Timeline for 2023-2024
- You contact Castle Legal Group via the website or e-mail.
- 24 hours: Within the next 24 hours, a senior attorney from Castle Legal Group will set up a call with you to discuss your situation and to ascertain whether our current caseload permits us to assist you as a client. We will provide you with the opportunity to ask us every possible question you may have so you can determine whether you would like to proceed with us representing you in your further interactions with your insurance company. If we are unable to serve you or you would like other recommendations for other firms to assist you, we will provide you with a list of three alternative firms that we would suggest to our friends and family.
- 3-7 Days: If both you and Castle Legal are interested in forming a relationship, we will meet in person either at one of your offices, your residence or even a Starbucks (coffee is on us) to discuss your case further.
- At your leisure: You will review and sign a retainer agreement that memorializes that you are client of the firm and e-mail us back a pdf of that document. That agreement will be in the form approved by the California State Bar (which you can confirm here) so you can be assured that the agreement is fair for all parties. It will plainly state that you are not required to pay for any of our services unless we obtain a settlement agreed upon by you or obtain a judgment on your behalf. But it will also explain that Castle Legal Group is entitled to 1/3 of any recovery or settlement. This is at the low end of the industry standard. Most of our competitors will ask for more. Review our competitor’s websites. They’ll never tell you what their percentage take is until they ask you to sign. We put it on our website because we have a commitment to transparency.
- 48 hours after Retainer: We will set up a client portal with a link that will e-mailed to you. We will ask you to upload or e-mail all the documents that you have relating to your claim so that we can review and to begin to strategize how best to proceed. You will ALWAYS, be able to log into this portal, review your documents, the pleadings we draft, all of our notes, our strategy documents and
- 1-2 weeks after Retainer: We write a detailed letter to the insurance company that explains as follows:
- That Castle Legal Group will be representing your interests from now on (this will get their attention).
- That all further correspondence should be with our office, as opposed to you individually (alleviating you from the stress of mail and calls)
- That Castle Legal demands full copy of the policy and the insurance company’s complete file relating to the claim, which will include all correspondence, reports, expert opinions and records.
- 2-4 weeks after Retainer: We will assess the need for additional information from you, your doctors, contractors, etc. We will reach out to them directly to obtain the necessary information.
- 4-6 weeks after Retainer: Depending where your claim is in the process (its best if we are engaged in the process early), we will provide the insurance company with one last chance to do the right thing before proceeding to litigation. We will provide a detailed and comprehensive report and explanation as to why you are entitled to benefits (or additional benefits) under the terms of your policy. We will cite legal precedent, refer to specific evidence in the records, attach exhibits, explain why their initial decision was improper under the applicable laws (California and federal authorities). We will then wait for their response. Ideally, the insurance company will recognize or acknowledge the faults in their prior decision and agree to pay you what you are entitled to. Your policy may also provide for a formal appeal of an adverse decision. This is another opportunity to provide more information and arguments as to why you are entitled to additional benefits. This may include additional documents and opinions from your doctors. We may hire third-party experts to opine as to your entitlement to benefits. We continue to aggressively advocate for your entitlement to benefits.
- If the decision is not suitable and adequate to compensate you, we will proceed to legal action. This is initiated by filing a Complaint. At this point, Castle Legal Group is intimately aware of the facts of your case and will draft a comprehensive Complaint to be filed in the appropriate court explaining why you are entitled to a judgment and recovery (including all forms of recovery, such as attorney’s fees and punitive damages).
- Filing of the Complaint and Service. We will file the complaint with the Court, paying the filing fees (approximately $400-$500) on your behalf. We will also pay for a service company to formally serve the Summons and Complaint on the insurance company. The insurance company will have 30 days to answer the Complaint or challenge its legal sufficiency.
- Initial Court Appearance. The Court will set an initial conference (Case Management or Scheduling Conference) to discuss the case and . You will not need to attend. The Castle Legal Group attorney will appear on your behalf. These initial conferences typically occur 60-120 days after filing the Complaint.
- Discovery. Now we start to assert the pressure on the insurance company. We send them written discovery in the form of questions and document requests seeking all information relating to why they denied your claim. We will ask for the bios of everyone who reviewed your claim. We will seek all of their internal communications with one another about your claim. We will ask for every piece of paper at the company that relates to your policy or includes your name. We will seek all of the training manuals for their staff, their certifications, their internal guidelines for processing claims, all expert reports, etc. They may resist these efforts and we will file motions to the judge so that he or she will require them to produce them.
- Discovery to You. The insurance company is entitled to conduct discovery too. They will send questions and document requests in hopes to intimidate you into giving up your case or to scare you into believing that they are going to win. You will not be intimidated and Castle Legal Group will ensure that their questions are limited and that they play within the rules. We will craft truthful responses together to further our cause that you are entitled to benefits under your policy.
REMEMBER, AT THIS POINT, YOU HAVE RECEIVED ALL OF THE ABOVE AT ABSOLUTELY NO COST. YOU WILL PAY US NOT ONE PENNY AND WILL HAVE RECEIVED ALL OF THE ABOVE (AND PROBABLY A COFFEE OR TWO) COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE.
- Mediation and Settlement Discussions (9-12 months after filing suit, sometimes sooner): After we believe we have obtained all of the necessary information to assess the insurance company’s positions and strategy, we can explore whether the insurance company is interested in resolving your claim. Once attorneys are on both sides of a claim, the likelihood of realistic settlement discussions are much higher. (Ideally, a smart insurance company lawyer will recognize the significant change of losing the case and explains to the insurance company the potential for a large judgment, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, etc.) Often, in such situations, the parties will agree to mediation with a neutral mediator who will work actively between the parties to resolve the case. Castle Legal Group has a list of preferred mediators who are experts in trying to resolve cases for the parties. These mediations can be done on Zoom or in person. During the mediaition, we will be negotaite for the best possible result.You will be needed to attend so that we can discuss any settlement proposals that we may receive from the other side. But again, this process is completely within your hands. We will advise you as to what we think about potential settlements compared to the potential recovery after trial. It will ultimately be up to you to decide whether or not what the insurance company is offering seems fair to you. WE WILL NEVER PRESSURE YOU INTO A SETTLEMENT.
- If the case does not settle, we will begin aggressively preparing for trial. We will hire experts. We will take depositions of all of the insurance company’s employees who were involved in handling your claim. We may file a motion for summary judgment. We will begin to prepare you and your witnesses (doctors, contractors, etc.) for trial.
- TRIAL (18-24 months after filing complaint): A typical disability trial in state court (i.e, Los Angeles or Orange County Superior Court) may take 7-10 court days. You will need to testify. A federal ERISA trial (for employee sponsored policies) is more streamlined procedure that is primarily done via large trial briefs/motion papers where you will not need to testify.
AT THIS POINT, NEARLY TWO YEARS INTO AGRESSIVE LITIGATION, YOU WILL HAVE STILL NOT PAID A SINGLE PENNY. AND UNLESS WE OBTAIN A SETTLEMENT OR A TRIAL JUDGMENT (I.E., A SUBSTANTIAL CHECK TO YOU), YOU WILL NOT PAY US A SINGLE PENNY. OUR FIRM WILL RISK TWO YEARS OF LITIGATION ON YOUR BEHALF WITHOUT ANY GUARANTEE OF RECEIVING ANY PAYMENT. IF YOU WIN, WE WIN TOO. IF YOU LOSE, WE LOSE TOO. WE ARE A TEAM. WE BELIEVE IN OUR CLIENTS. AND WE WILL DO EVERYTHING TO ENSURE THAT YOU BELIEVE IN US TOO.
