Meliha Babic | Bellevue Personal Injury Lawyer

Recently, an Immigration case was severely compromised by an out of state attorney who filed wrong information initially and compromised the credibility of petitioner and beneficiary. On appeal, I wrote a winning Federal Court brief and contacted state Senator's Maria Cantwell and Patty Murphy and won the case in record time. The family is happy and growing and currently welcomed a child. They are extremely satisfied with the outcome of the case and relationship they had with me.

Building a successful practice is a daily effort to nurture successful relationships with clients and establish a presence in my community. In doing so, I have spent years providing pro bono service to non-profit organization that in turn recognized my pro-bono service to its membership at large. This symbiotic relationship provided an excellent support and referral network for the needs of my practice and community I serve.

When selecting an attorney to represent your best interest look for one that you connect with intellectually and personally. There is nothing worse than a non-responsive attorney, or one that passes you over to their paralegal or receptionist. Look for attorney with whom you can build a personal caring relationship with; after all they are taking care of some of the most acute and personal needs for you and your family. Same as with selecting a caring physician; always look for someone with knowledge, integrity and professional availability.

Local knowledge of the court rules (district and municipal court), court administration and laws is extremely important to the outcome of your family or criminal case. Family law especially varies from state to state and jurisdictional awareness of courts rules and procedures is paramount for the best outcome. Look for an attorney that lives and works in your local area when looking for a consultation about family law in particular.

During an initial phone consultation I like to personally engage with a client and gather the their personal contact information and their own personal narrative about their case. Often times people very much know the strong and weak points of their own situations and this is a great opportunity for both sides to evaluate if a professional relationship would work for both parties. I can always provide the prospective client with their best and worst case scenario and advise them on what legal service I can provide them with and what my fees are.

During the initial consultation I need to be able to identify the prospective client by name, address, phone number and email. I need a brief story from them about their case after which I can formulate more in depth questions. In addition, I also need to know what form of payment the client is providing. The client should always provide clear dates and times of any incidents if personal injury case. In family law cases I need a more detailed statement about family finances, living situation and mental health concerns. In immigration cases dates are very important and should be available upon the consultation so as to determine the eligibility for adjusting immigration status.

I am very involved in my community in Bellevue and in broader Washington state. I attend community events, meetings of various Board of Directors and support local and state wide union organizers. I am always available to step in as a community liaison as I have in the past. I have appeared in many local news programs speaking against hate crimes in my community and personally attended many community improvement projects.

• Washington State Bar Association        

• Family | Successful conclusion of divorce litigation, divorce decree | I successfully litigated an international divorce that spanned three countries, while one of the parties was in hiding from the abusive spouse.

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