Today we’d like to introduce you to Miriah Soliz. They and their team share their story with us below:
Miriah was born and raised in Houston, Texas from a working-class family. Miriah is the first attorney in her family and a first-generation college graduate. She received her high school diploma from Friendswood High School and was active in her community often working with local judges and running campaigns for state representatives. After completing high school, Miriah attended the University of Houston and was enrolled in the honors program where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science. During her university years, she was a member of prestigious pre-law society Phi Alpha Delta and served as a Relations Analyst on the Student Government Association. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Miriah graduated from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas.
In law school, Miriah learned how to aggressively advocate on behalf of her clients while she participated in Thurgood Marshall’s highly awarded Mock Trial team and gained experience in law school by working for multiple personal injury litigation firms. During law school, Miriah worked on high-level wrongful death and catastrophic injury trials and took depositions of corporate representatives from some of the largest corporations in the U.S. Miriah also attended Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation as part of their executive education program and received a negotiation certification.
Miriah has a track record of obtaining seven-figure settlements in single-plaintiff personal injury litigation and has aggressively litigated cases in court. When Miriah isn’t working, she is spending time with her husband Cedric and her dog Mochi and enjoys cooking, volunteering, and the beach. She also finds time to be involved as a board member on various Texas State bar committees.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am a first-generation attorney and started working at my first personal injury law firm in 2010. I eventually landed jobs at some of the top personal injury law firms in Houston because of my experience and that allowed me to start trial work earlier than a lot of my peers. After several trials and years of experience in the field, I decided it was time to open my own practice. Opening a law firm was an exciting opportunity for me because it meant I could do things my way and my time wasn’t owned by anyone but me. I think starting a business and getting it up and running is one of the most memorable parts of the journey and I really soaked in every moment. I began to craft my brand and build my team and in our first year, we were able to settle all of our client’s cases for policy limits. The struggles along the way were minimal because I had a set plan in place for my practice and I studied many years on how to start a law firm. One thing I can say that helped my practice take-off was my large social media presence. I think a lot of business owners struggle with getting clients because they spend a lot of money on marketing and I didn’t struggle with that because I did things organically with what I already had.
What one piece of advice do you repeatedly give to your clients?
If you are a new client, my advice to you is to work with an attorney you feel connects with you most. You should meet with your attorney in person and discuss the case so you can have a better understanding of how a personal injury cases works. I always give each of my clients a guidance sheet when they work with me called the Do’s and Don’ts so they will understand what to do in several situations.
Do not try to fight the insurance companies alone. Insurance companies never offer injured parties what they really deserve until an attorney gets involved. I have had clients wait to hire an attorney thinking they could handle the case alone only to get offered less than half of what I could get them. You need to hire an attorney quickly after a catastrophic injury so that no one at fault can cover their tracks. Time is of the essence in catastrophic injury cases. EVERY MOMENT MATTERS. Each delay could potentially cost you millions of dollars or even ruin your case.
How do you charge for your services?
We work under what is called a contingency fee agreement which means we do not get a penny unless we win your case. We undertake all expenses and only recover a fee if we win at the standard rate. We have never taken more from a client than they have recovered. Every client comes to us under a serious amount of stress and if we take their potential case, we make sure to remove as much of that stress as possible and provide guidance every step of the way.
Many of our clients have never had an attorney before or have never had to go through the litigation process. We simplify the process and make sure all of their immediate needs are taken care of. We are not a mill law firm. This means we do not take on every case but are extremely selective in the cases we take. We do this because catastrophic injury cases are very complex and take a highly skilled and trained trial attorney to work up the case and make sure there are no stones left unturned. This is also why we ONLY handle personal injury cases and nothing else. There is simply not enough time in the day to jump from one case type to another. This is all we do and our clients are the lifeblood of this firm.
What is the process like if I want to call and discuss my potential case?
I typically ask several questions and like to see any photos, videos, or documents you have that pertain to your potential case. If you were in a car crash, I check if your police reports ready, if it is, I review it with you and check for citations given by the officer. I also make sure the police report is accurate and if it’s not, often will call the officer to discuss doing a supplemental corrective report. If there are any witnesses, I get their names and information and typically get a statement from them if they are cooperative.
If you were injured at work, I check to see if there is worker’s compensation coverage. I also do research on who owns the land and equipment you were working on the day of the accident. I couple this with a background report on negligent parties who are at fault and find out what companies they own and assets they have. If it was a defective product, I research previous product recalls and lawsuits against that company.
If you feel confident in hiring me after we discuss your case, I send you a contract to sign which you can sign electronically or by hand. Upon signing the contract, you will receive a welcome letter detailing the next steps of your case and a copy of your contract. We will take your case from signing to filing a lawsuit if we feel it’s necessary. All clients will be made aware of every major case update along the way.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I grew up in Houston and one of my favorite things about our city is the amazing food we have. I love that we have such a rich culture here with all types of food and no matter where I travel, I still feel Houston has the best to offer!
The only thing I don’t like about Houston and I think everyone will agree with me on is the traffic!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @thesolizlawfirm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesolizlawfirm
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXEmrbXyGyqplL9btwYL1EQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@themagnifierlawyer
Image Credits
Pure Conceptions Media Taren Photos
