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What it means when firms keep turning your case down
Being declined is usually about fit, economics or timing rather than the merits. How to tell which one you are hitting, and what to change.
Calling six firms and being turned down by all six feels like a verdict on your case. It usually is not. There are four common reasons, and they call for different responses.
1. Wrong fit
The most common by far. Firms decline what they do not routinely handle, and they are right to. A general practice firm turning down a specialised matter is not saying your case is bad, it is saying they are not the ones to run it. What to change: stop calling firms by proximity and start calling by practice area.
2. Economics
On contingency, a firm is funding your case. If the likely recovery will not cover the work and the costs, they cannot take it however sympathetic they are. This is the hardest one to hear because it says nothing about whether you were wronged. What to change: ask whether the matter could work on an hourly or limited-scope basis, where you pay for a defined piece of help rather than the whole case. Also ask about legal aid and law school clinics, which take matters that do not work commercially.
3. Conflict of interest
The firm already acts for the other side, or has in the past. They are required to decline and often cannot tell you why. What to change: nothing, other than to keep going. This one is genuinely not about you.
4. A deadline problem
Every kind of claim has a time limit, and some are short. A firm that thinks yours may have passed will often decline rather than take on the argument. What to change: ask directly whether timing is the issue. If it might be, treat it as urgent, because if a deadline is close then delay is the one thing that makes it worse.
The question that gets you further
When a firm declines, ask: "Is this outside what you handle, or do you think the case itself has a problem?" Most will tell you, and the two answers point in completely different directions. Then ask who they would send it to. Lawyers know who handles what locally, and a referral from one is worth more than another afternoon of searching. It does not normally cost you extra either, which is covered in will a referral cost me more.
If you would rather describe the matter once and let it reach the members who handle that work, you can tell us what you need.
General information, not advice about your matter, and nothing here should be relied on about a deadline. If timing might be an issue, speak to a lawyer quickly.