THE VERDICT IS IN: Personal Injury Deserves Personal Attention

Story by Gail Parsons | Photography by Thomas Reimer

For Derek Horne, the success of the Horne Law Firm isn't measured simply by verdicts, settlements or the size of the firm. It is measured by the lasting relationships built with clients, the trust those clients place in his team and the firm's commitment to the Pooler community.

That philosophy recently earned the Horne Law Firm recognition from the people it serves, with the firm taking home honors including 𝐏𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐦, 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫  and 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. For Horne, the awards represent more than professional recognition. They are confirmation that the firm's emphasis on personal attention, community involvement, and helping clients through some of the most difficult periods of their lives is making a difference.

"Personal Injury deserves personal attention" is the firm's brand, and Horne said that philosophy guides everything from the first meeting with a client to the final resolution of a case.

At the heart of that approach is accessibility. The vast majority of clients meet personally with someone from the firm, Horne said. Clients also receive the cell phone numbers of their case manager and attorney, as well as Horne's own number.

That accessibility is intentional. "Fear starts in the dark," Horne said, explaining a phrase he frequently reminds his staff to keep in mind.

When a client is waiting for a promised phone call or update and doesn't hear from an attorney, uncertainty can quickly turn into anxiety.

For someone already dealing with an injury, financial concerns and the emotional aftermath of an accident, the last thing they need is additional stress caused by not knowing what is happening with their case, he said.

His goal is to keep clients informed and involved throughout the process. In turn, Horne believes that experience leads clients to recommend the firm to friends and family. "Nearly 40% of our new clients come from referrals from previous clients", says Horne.

Giving Back to the Community 

Horne Law Firm's community involvement is another part of the philosophy Horne believes contributed to the awards. He is involved with several local organizations and initiatives, including serving on the board of Gilliard and Company, a nonprofit that works with young people aging out of foster care. The organization helps provide housing and life skills to young adults as they transition into adulthood. The work has personal meaning for Horne, who was adopted and has memories of spending time in three foster homes when he was a child.

Horne is also involved with the Pooler Chamber of Commerce and the Pooler Juneteenth Celebration Committee. The firm is also a major donor to Tharros Place, a Pooler based nonprofit which works with children affected by sex trafficking.

For Horne, community involvement isn't separate from his work as an attorney.

"Where you pray, live, eat, sleep, work you should give back to the community," he said.

That commitment, he believes, has helped people see that the firm is interested in more than financial success.

"I think people who know us... know that it's all not just about the money," he said. "It's also about giving back to the community and trying to make this area where we all live a better place."

From Law School to the Horne Law Firm

Horne's path to becoming an attorney wasn't entirely traditional.

After working as a stockbroker at E*TRADE, he graduated from Tulane Law School in 2004. His early career included working as a legislative adviser for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, followed by work with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and public policy work for the British Consulate in Atlanta.

Then the financial crisis of 2009 changed his plans. After being laid off, Horne said he wanted to continue working in a profession where he could help people. Personal injury law offered an opportunity to combine that goal with his interest in the law.

That interest was sparked much earlier. Horne said his father, who had served in the Air Force and later worked as an FBI supervisory special agent, decided to attend law school himself.

Watching his father pursue a law degree while maintaining a career convinced Horne that he could do the same. He also saw the law as something practical.

"The law is a tool to solve problems," he said. "It's a tool to understand the way the world works. It's a tool to bring justice."

After working for other law firms, Horne opened his own practice in 2018.

Today, the Horne Law Firm has grown to 18 staff members and two full-time interns, with four attorneys. The team includes investigators, paralegals, case managers and other personnel who each play a role in handling clients' cases.

What Happens Behind a Case

A personal injury case involves more than filing paperwork and negotiating a settlement.

The process generally begins with sitting down with a client, often in the client's home, and learning what happened and what the client needs.

From there, the firm works to make sure the client receives appropriate medical treatment. The team gathers medical records and other documentation, investigates the circumstances surrounding the injury and develops the evidence needed to support the claim.

Typical evidence can include photographs, witness statements and obtained surveillance or security-camera footage.

The firm then prepares a demand for settlement and enters negotiations with the insurance company. If a settlement cannot be reached, the case may proceed to mediation or litigation.

Throughout that process, Horne said, communication with the client remains essential.

Some clients need time before they feel comfortable sharing everything about what happened to them. Those conversations don't necessarily happen during a first meeting. "Building trust and getting to truly know a client requires real effort, real time, and there's really not a lot of shortcuts to that," Horne said.

That is one reason he believes the firm's relationships with clients often extend well beyond the length of a case.

Fighting for the Client

One of the biggest challenges Horne sees in personal injury work is dealing with insurance companies.

He said clients sometimes become frustrated because they want their cases resolved immediately; however, developing a claim the right way can take time.

But Horne believes patience is necessary to achieve the best possible result.

Some of the cases that stand out most to him are those in which the firm has helped clients achieve significant financial recoveries after initially receiving a denial or lowball offer from an insurance company.

In other cases, the financial outcome isn't necessarily what makes the case memorable. Horne recalled helping a client with a traumatic brain injury navigate the medical system after the person had difficulty accessing treatment and had no health insurance. The firm invested the time and effort needed to help the client find appropriate care, and worked to delay his discharge from a local hospital.

Those are the cases Horne considers particularly rewarding. "You can't get someone's severed finger back; you can't undo a scar," he said. "But we can advocate for a client and make sure the person receives the compensation to which they are entitled."

What Clients Should Know

Horne also has a straightforward message for people who are injured: don't wait too long to seek advice.

He recommends contacting an attorney as soon as possible if someone believes legal guidance may be necessary. Not every accident requires an attorney, he said, but an early conversation can help someone understand what steps to take.

One of the biggest mistakes people make, in his view, is talking to an insurance company about their injuries without legal guidance.

"It's like the Miranda rights," he said. "Anything you say, can and will be used against you. The insurance adjusters are very crafty. They're coached on how to ask questions."

For example, if an injured person tells them their right shoulder is really bothering them after an accident, but they don't mention their left knee is hurt as well, an insurance company may use that conversation later.

"They'll come back and say, 'Well, we talked to you on a recorded line, and you never said anything about your knee, so we don't feel we have to pay any of your medical bills related to that,'" he said.

He also advises people to preserve evidence, take photographs, obtain an accident report and seek medical treatment rather than waiting to see whether an injury improves on its own.

The sooner important information is documented, the less likely it is to be lost.

A Team Effort

Ultimately, Horne sees the awards as recognition not just for himself, but for the entire Horne Law Firm team.

He describes the staff as dedicated, committed and willing to go beyond the basic requirements of their jobs. The team is close-knit, he said, with members supporting one another both professionally and personally.

"We are a close-knit family," he said. "We have each other's back. We all care about each other. We vacation together. It is truly a blessing that we have such a great team."

That sense of family extends to the firm's philosophy toward its clients. Horne describes the firm as a "360-degree law firm," one that wants to help clients wherever it can rather than limiting assistance to the portion of a case that generates revenue.

"We don't make a dime helping a client find the right body shop, but we still want to help."

Horne Law has also helped clients find jobs, assisted with school-related matters and provided letters of recommendation. The goal is to look at the whole person, not simply the legal claim.

His philosophy can be summed up simply: God first, clients second and money third.

The community awards, he said, are especially meaningful because they indicate that people notice the effort.

Personal injury law can be emotionally demanding. Attorneys work with people dealing with pain, lost wages, disrupted family lives and injuries that may permanently change what they can do. Knowing that the community recognizes the firm's work provides a different kind of reward.

For Horne, that recognition isn't about being the biggest firm or boasting about how much money the firm has made. It is about being able to point to the people the firm has helped, and knowing those relationships matter.

"To know that the community appreciates the energy and the effort that we're giving back to our clients, to the community," he said, "is absolutely a tremendous amount of pride, not just for me but for the whole team."