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About Speaks Law Firm

Experienced North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers Serving Victims Statewide in Serious Injury Cases

Speaks Law Firm
Who we are

A personal injury case should be developed, not simply estimated

When an unexpected accident causes serious injury, the legal process can become another burden on top of medical treatment, lost income, insurance communications, and uncertainty about the future.

Speaks Law Firm was founded in 1997 to stand up for people injured because of someone else’s negligence. Today, our North Carolina personal injury law firm brings together experienced attorneys, trial lawyers, litigation professionals, and support staff who work collaboratively to develop injury cases from the initial investigation through settlement, trial, and, when appropriate, appeal.

Our approach is straightforward: a personal injury case should be developed, not simply estimated.

That means investigating what happened, developing the medical evidence, identifying available insurance and other sources of recovery, working with appropriate professionals, documenting the ways an injury has affected a person’s life, and preparing each significant case with litigation in mind.

For injured clients and their families, that means having a legal team focused on the work of the case while they focus on medical care and recovery.

If you or a family member has been seriously injured, contact Speaks Law Firm for a free case review.

Why choose us

Why Choose Speaks Law Firm?

A Law Firm With Extensive Trial Experience

Trial experience matters because a personal injury claim may ultimately need to be presented to a jury.

Founder R. Clarke Speaks has personally tried more than 30 cases to verdict. The firm’s trial team brings a combined average of approximately 25 years of trial experience. Speaks Law Firm has also handled high-stakes litigation involving serious and catastrophic injuries, including matters resulting in an $18.2 million verdict and a $20 million settlement.

Those case histories are part of the firm’s experience, not a prediction of what any particular client’s case may be worth. Each injury claim depends on its own facts, evidence, injuries, applicable law, insurance coverage, and other circumstances. We evaluate each new case to identify this information.

Learn more about Speaks Law Firm’s trial and litigation experience

Experience Beyond the Trial Court

Complex personal injury litigation does not always end with a trial-court decision.

Clarke Speaks has argued before the North Carolina Supreme Court and has argued more than 10 times before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has also participated in appellate briefing in numerous matters.

That background gives the firm experience analyzing issues that can arise beyond the initial stages of a personal injury claim, including legal research, briefing, appellate procedure, and preserving issues for further review.

Learn more about our trial and appellate experience

Experience From the Insurance Side

Several Speaks Law Firm attorneys previously worked in insurance claims or insurance defense.

That experience provides a perspective that can be valuable when evaluating a personal injury claim. Before representing injured people, some of our attorneys worked for insurance companies or defended insurers and their insureds. They have seen how claims are investigated, evaluated, negotiated, and litigated from the other side.

That background can inform how our attorneys investigate evidence, evaluate insurance coverage, anticipate defenses, and prepare a claim for negotiation or litigation.

Our goal is not simply to respond to an insurance company’s position. We work to develop the evidence and legal arguments necessary to present our client’s position clearly and effectively.

The Speaks Law Firm team
How we work

A Collaborative Team, Not Just One Lawyer

A serious injury case can involve medical records, accident evidence, insurance policies, lost income, future medical needs, life changes, and complicated legal questions.

That is why Speaks Law Firm operates as a team.

The firm has grown from its founding in 1997 into an organization with approximately 60+ attorneys and support professionals. Clients benefit from the collective experience available within the firm rather than relying exclusively on the perspective of a single attorney.

For matters involving serious and catastrophic injuries, the firm’s Exceptional Case Program brings senior trial lawyers, litigation attorneys, and case managers together to examine the case from multiple perspectives.

The process may involve questions such as:

  • What evidence establishes how the accident happened?
  • Who may be legally responsible?
  • What insurance policies or other sources of recovery may apply?
  • Are there liability or coverage issues that require additional investigation?
  • What medical evidence documents the client’s injuries?
  • What treatment may be necessary in the future?
  • How has the injury affected work, earning capacity, family life, and daily activities?
  • What additional evidence or professional opinions would help develop the case?
  • If a lawsuit becomes necessary, what evidence will be needed to present the case to a jury?

This collaborative approach is particularly valuable in serious and catastrophic injury cases where the consequences extend far beyond the initial medical bills.

Meet the Speaks Law Firm team

Our process

How Speaks Law Firm Builds a Personal Injury Case

At Speaks Law Firm, we view the value of a personal injury case as something that must be developed through evidence and careful preparation. Our process can include:

  1. 01

    Intake and investigation

    We begin by learning what happened and identifying the evidence that may be important to the claim. We offer free case evaluations for injury victims in North Carolina.

  2. 02

    Liability development

    We investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident and evaluate the evidence supporting responsibility.

  3. 03

    Medical development

    We work to understand the nature and extent of the injuries, treatment, prognosis, and potential future medical needs.

  4. 04

    Damages development

    We document medical expenses, lost income, changes in earning capacity, and other losses that may be legally recoverable.

  5. 05

    Narrative development

    A serious injury is more than a collection of medical records and bills. We work to develop a clear picture of how the injury has affected the client’s life.

  6. 06

    Settlement preparation

    When appropriate, we develop the evidence and legal arguments needed to present the claim to the insurance company or opposing counsel.

  7. 07

    Litigation and trial preparation

    If litigation is appropriate, the case is developed with the possibility of presenting the evidence to a judge or jury.

  8. 08

    Appeal and collection

    When applicable, the firm can lean on its litigation and appellate experience to continue to serve the case after trial. We also consider collectability, including available insurance, excess or umbrella coverage, and other assets, because a judgment must be capable of being collected to provide meaningful financial recovery.

The exact process varies from case to case. Not every matter requires every stage, and our attorneys tailor the approach to the facts and legal issues involved.

Resources

Deep Relationships With Medical and Other Professionals

Serious personal injury cases frequently require knowledge that extends beyond the law. Over the years, Speaks Law Firm has developed professional relationships with individuals and organizations in fields relevant to injury litigation. Depending on the circumstances of a case, those resources may include:

  • Treating physicians and surgeons
  • Medical experts
  • Neurologists and neuropsychologists
  • Accident reconstructionists
  • Biomechanical and human-factors engineers
  • Life care planners
  • Vocational rehabilitation professionals
  • Economists and forensic accountants
  • Future medical-care analysts
  • Commercial-vehicle safety professionals
  • OSHA and industrial-safety professionals
  • Product and engineering professionals
  • Fire-cause and elevator professionals

The purpose of involving an outside professional is not simply to add another name to a case. Appropriate professionals can help the legal team understand complex evidence, evaluate disputed issues, document future needs, and explain technical subjects in a way that can be presented clearly during negotiations or litigation.

Helping Clients Access Appropriate Medical Care

An injury claim and medical recovery often develop at the same time.

Our team has developed relationships with medical providers throughout North Carolina and works to help injured clients identify appropriate medical resources. In some circumstances, clients may have concerns about health insurance coverage, medical expenses, or access to treatment.

Medical decisions remain between the client and their healthcare providers. Our role is to help address the legal and practical issues surrounding an injury claim while clients receive the care recommended for their circumstances.

This allows our legal team to focus on investigating the claim, communicating with insurance companies, collecting evidence, and developing the case while the client concentrates on recovery.

Protecting Your Claim From the Start

Insurance companies begin investigating accidents quickly.

Evidence can disappear. Vehicles may be repaired or sold. Electronic information may be overwritten. Witness memories can change. Medical conditions can become more complicated. Insurance companies may also begin evaluating liability and damages before an injured person fully understands the legal significance of the accident.

Speaks Law Firm’s investigative process is designed to address these issues early. Depending on the circumstances, that can include collecting traffic and accident information, reviewing available records, identifying witnesses, preserving evidence, examining insurance coverage, and investigating the circumstances that caused the injury.

North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule makes careful investigation particularly important in many negligence claims. In general, a finding of contributory negligence can bar recovery in a negligence action, although the application of the doctrine depends on the facts and applicable legal exceptions.

That is one reason early factual development matters. At Speaks Law Firm, we take action swiftly to help you protect clients’ cases. Our free case evaluation helps injury victims understand their next steps.

Exceptional Case Division

Serious and Catastrophic Injury Cases

Some injuries change nearly every part of a person’s life.

Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe orthopedic injuries, amputations, burns, paralysis, and other catastrophic injuries may require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. They can also affect a person’s ability to work, care for family members, participate in activities, or live independently.

These catastrophic injury cases can require a different level of preparation because the legal claim may involve not only what has already happened, but also what the injury may mean for the person’s future.

Speaks Law Firm has experience handling serious and catastrophic injury litigation and works with appropriate medical, vocational, economic, life-care, engineering, and other professionals when the circumstances call for that level of analysis, and the firm’s Exceptional Case Division handles these cases and clients with extra care and attention.

The objective is to develop a well-supported claim that accounts for the evidence and the full scope of legally recoverable losses rather than relying solely on an initial estimate.

Learn more about Speaks Law Firm’s Exceptional Case Division

Attorney R. Clarke Speaks
Beyond the courtroom

Experience That Includes Teaching Other Lawyers

Clarke Speaks’s professional experience extends beyond representing clients.

Around 2000, Clarke wrote the majority of an early edition of a North Carolina Bar Association Practical Skills Course publication, a practice guide designed to help train North Carolina lawyers. He has also presented at the North Carolina Bar Association’s Practical Skills Course and other legal education programs.

He has taught and spoken about law firm leadership and legal practice to lawyers and law firms, including presentations to large groups of attorneys.

Clarke is also the author of The North Carolina Auto Injury Book, an educational resource for people dealing with automobile injury claims, as well as Busted by the Federal Authorities, a guide concerning the federal criminal justice system.

Speaks Law Firm also publishes Road to Recovery, an educational magazine for people dealing with injuries, and produces educational articles and podcasts addressing personal injury, litigation, recovery, and related subjects.

This commitment to education reflects an important part of the firm’s philosophy: People facing an injury or legal problem should have access to useful information that can help them make informed decisions.

Podcast

The Verdict With Clarke Speaks

Clarke Speaks also hosts The Verdict with American Injury Lawyer Clarke Speaks, a podcast available through major podcast platforms.

The program discusses personal injury litigation, catastrophic injury recovery, trial strategy, leadership, resilience, and the experiences of people whose lives have changed because of serious injuries.

The firm’s educational media is intended to provide information and perspective, not to substitute for legal advice about an individual person’s circumstances.

Listen to The Verdict with Clarke Speaks

Our history

A North Carolina Firm With a Long History of Serving Injured People

Speaks Law Firm was founded in Wilmington in 1997 and has grown into a North Carolina personal injury law firm with offices in Wilmington and Charlotte and a team serving clients throughout North Carolina. The firm represents people injured in automobile crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, workplace accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, other premises incidents, and other serious injury matters.

The firm’s attorneys bring different backgrounds and areas of litigation experience to the work, including personal injury litigation, trial practice, appellate work, and insurance defense.

That collective experience allows Speaks Law Firm to approach cases from more than one perspective while maintaining a clear focus on the people the firm represents.

Meet our attorneys

What to expect

What Clients Can Expect From Speaks Law Firm

When you hire Speaks Law Firm, you are not simply handing your claim to a call center or an anonymous claims-processing system. You are working with a legal team that investigates the facts, develops the evidence, communicates with you about your case, and prepares the matter according to its circumstances. Our team can help shoulder the legal workload associated with a personal injury claim, including:

  • Communicating with insurance companies and opposing parties
  • Investigating the accident and available evidence
  • Collecting and reviewing records
  • Developing medical evidence
  • Evaluating insurance coverage
  • Documenting lost income and other financial losses
  • Working with appropriate medical and technical professionals
  • Preparing settlement demands
  • Negotiating with insurers
  • Filing and litigating lawsuits when appropriate
  • Preparing cases for trial
  • Addressing appellate issues when necessary
  • Evaluating the practical issues involved in collecting a judgment or settlement

Each case is different. No law firm can predict the outcome or value of a particular claim without evaluating the facts, evidence, injuries, applicable law, and available sources of recovery.

What we can do is put the experience, resources, preparation, and attention of our team to work on your individual case. We begin with a free case evaluation to assess an injury victim’s unique situation and needs.

Why us

Why Injured People Turn to Speaks Law Firm

A serious injury can leave you asking difficult questions:

  • Who is responsible for my injury?
  • Will the insurance company pay what my claim is worth?
  • How will I pay for medical treatment?
  • What happens if I cannot return to work?
  • How will my injury affect my family and my future?
  • What happens if the insurance company denies responsibility?
  • What happens if my case has to go to court?

These questions require careful attention.

Speaks Law Firm combines decades of experience representing injured people with a collaborative team structure, substantial trial and appellate experience, insurance-defense perspective, professional resources, and a process designed to develop the evidence in each case.

Most importantly, we understand that behind every claim is a person whose life may have changed unexpectedly.

If you have been injured in North Carolina, our team can review your situation and explain the legal options that may be available based on the information you provide.

Our office

Wilmington. Always nearby.

Headquartered in Wilmington, we serve clients throughout North Carolina. Can’t make it to our office? We will come to you — at your home, hospital room, or anywhere convenient.

Wilmington — Main Office

Office Info

902 Market St., Wilmington, NC 28401

(910) 341-7570Get Directions

Charlotte Office

Office Info

831 E. Morehead St. Suite 540, Charlotte, NC 28202

(980) 237-6948Get Directions

Available by Appointment

All Offices

Fayetteville, Durham, Mooresville, Jacksonville, Matthews, Monroe

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