I have warned friends and family for some time that they should be very careful in choosing a personal injury lawyer. Think about it: you have an accident and you are in a mess. You approach a big law firm. The lawyers (because you assume that they are all qualified) have all the knowledge and power, whereas you haven't been through a claim before and are skilled in other things. There is a power and knowledge imbalance.

You may assume that your lawyer has your case at the forefront of their minds at all times. Think again.

Last month, I received an email from a legal recruitment agency. The agency was promoting some of the 'lawyers' on their books. They described one of their candidates as:

"Over 10 years' Road Traffic Accident litigation experience. Experienced handling a high volume caseload focusing on claimant Road Traffic Accidents. Current caseload consists of 350-400 files."

Now I have heard of 'lawyers' with 250-300 cases at a time before, but 350-400 at a time is crazy. Think about it: if you were to get married tomorrow, how many people would you invite? 80? 150? And if 150 showed up, would you, honestly, know all their names?

So imagine what it must be like to be the 'lawyer' with 400 injured people to look after? I cannot imagine a more stressful, impossible legal job. I do not think that it is possible to give a good service to 400 clients. I really worry that thousands of claims are being under-settled every year. As a client, why put up with it?

And it isn't just me who thinks that thousands of personal injury claims are being under-settled: I have heard of solicitors setting up websites to attract clients of another personal law firm whose cases have already been settled, because so many emanating from that law firm had been under-settled. What a sorry state of affairs.

And what is all the more perplexing is that injured people have the freedom to choose who is to be their lawyer, yet seldom do people exercise that right, instead most injured people use the lawyers appointed by their insurance company. And as personal injury law firms all offer No Win, No Fee agreements it simply doesn't make sense to have your case handled by someone who is looking after another 399 injured people.

We qualified, ethical personal injury solicitors for the main do not like what has happened to our industry. We feel strongly that helping injured people is a noble thing to do. We want the public to see us like Erin Brockovich: helping the little people fight for justice.

My tips, therefore, for choosing a personal injury lawyer are:

1. Understand how your 'lawyer' was appointed. Is it because their firm has a cosy relationship with an insurance company?

2. Demand to know whether your lawyer is qualified.

3. Demand that your lawyer tells you how many cases they will have at any one time.

4. Ask whether they are a member of an organisation such as the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

5. Shop around, as you would for clothes or car insurance, until you find a lawyer (not necessarily the firm) that you are happy with.