Attorney Matt Boulton’s “Chamber Member Spotlight” Interview

Boulton Law Group’s Story & Community Involvement

Indiana personal injury attorney recently sat down with the Brownsburg Chamber of Commerce to provides insight about the firm’s background and his .

Video Transcription:

[00:00:05] Interviewer: Hey, everybody, welcome to another Chamber Member Spotlight. We’re here with Matt Bolton today with the Boulton Law Group here in Brownsburg. Matt, thanks for sitting down with us.

[00:00:14] Matt Boulton: Well, my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

[00:00:16] Interviewer: And as a way of getting started, just tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

[00:00:21] Matt Boulton: Sure. Again, my name is Matt Boulton and I am the owner and attorney with Boulton Law Group here in Brownsburg. Our office has been open at Brownsburg since 2014. We’re primarily a personal injury law firm representing people who have claims relating to car accidents, slip and falls and a variety of other types of issues.

[00:00:40] Interviewer: Ok, um, how did you get started into that business? Did you dream about it as a kid, getting into the law business?

[00:00:50] Matt Boulton: No, actually the opposite. When I went to law school, I never imagined I would be a what’s called a litigator, someone who goes to court and represents clients. But through law school, we had a trial advocacy program which got me into the courtroom and I really found my joy of representing clients at that point. Throughout law school, I was able to internship a clerkship during the summers with an attorney down in Bloomington, Indiana, who had a solo practitioner and did some personal injury work and kind of allowed me to find my way in the type of cases I wanted to handle. Through that, again, I found the passion of representing people who had been injured and representing them in their claims against insurance companies, as well as ultimately to a jury if necessary. But so I practiced for five years in Bloomington and then worked for a large advertising firm in Indianapolis for about 13 years, again supervising and managing their litigation department before coming out to Brownsburg and open our firm in 2014.

[00:01:53] Interviewer: Wow, so what about the personal injury side of it really made you passionate about that and helping people out with that aspect of law?

[00:02:04] Matt Boulton: Well, you actually said and that’s actually helping people out. We really you know, when we first meet clients, a lot of times it’s some of the worst days in blue eyes. Yeah. Tragedies after an accident. But through you know, with the help of our office and myself, we’re able to guide them through that process and educate them on the process and to hopefully the culmination of their case. Will we be able to get it resolved. And again, not able to necessarily put everything back the way it was, but at least help them move forward in their lives and have some closure.

[00:02:43] Interviewer: Yeah. So, um, we talked a little bit about this before, um, we got going. What types of cases do you handle on that and then how much does it cost you to go to somebody like yourself for help with something like that?

[00:02:59] Matt Boulton: Uh, again, we consider ourselves a personal injury law firm. So people who’ve been injured, again, in a variety of ways due to the fault of someone else. And you get a lot of times we’re dealing with insurance companies on behalf of the other individuals. Um, and that’s part of why I open blogger in 2014, which to provide the personal attention and service that I really wasn’t able to get or provide when I was working, working for the large, larger firm there. It was more about case numbers and just moving the cases forward, whereas again, being the owner and an attorney in a smaller firm, I’m able to again be involved in every case, hopefully meet with every client. Uh, you know, not only in the beginning, but as the case goes, goes forward and then continuing to guide them through the process. And in terms of fees, you know, we work primarily on a contingency fee basis. And what that means is it’s a percentage of whatever we can ultimately collect on behalf of the client. So there are no upfront fees or cost to hire us. In addition, I provide free consultation. So, you know, if anyone just has a question or something after an accident may not justify an attorney involvement. But like I said, if they just have a question of something, I’m always happy to, uh, take a phone call or answer an email with any questions that one might have, but with a free consultation.

[00:04:23] Interviewer: So what stage in the game is really the best for? Um, I mean, I guess you would always say probably as soon as an incident happens, it’s best to maybe reach out to you at that point. But if let’s say I’m somebody who I’m still battling with insurance and with the claim and everything else a year or two years after an incident took place, is that too late for me to get with somebody like you or tell me a little bit about that?

[00:04:46] Matt Boulton: Absolutely not. I mean, it’s never too late or early to pick up the phone and call an attorney to ask that question. Typically, in what we call negligence cases or auto accidents and falls, we do have a two-year statute of limitations in Indiana. So any point after two years, it would be too late. But like I said, there are always exceptions depending on a person’s age. So so, again, I encourage anyone to pick up the phone and certainly call. But generally speaking, I think it’s always good to try to get an attorney involved or at least answer some questions early on. Insurance companies have attorneys on staff nowadays. Most of them have litigation counsel that are employees of the insurance companies. So they have attorneys working on the case from day one. The claims adjusters are very experienced, very well trained for these insurance companies. So I always recommend that somebody, again, if nothing else, just pick up the phone and call somebody to understand what their rights are after an accident rather than have an insurance company try to dictate the process.

[00:05:44] Interviewer: Because in that scenario, you’re really it’s a one-sided deal, right? I mean, you don’t really have any representation, correct?

[00:05:51] Matt Boulton: Yeah. The insurance companies looking out for their own best interest in the interest of their insured, not the injured person who through no fault of their own, you know, right now is without a car and is current medical bills and things along those lines. Yeah.

[00:06:05] Interviewer: Ok, well, how are you guys impacted by covid-19? Was it basically business as usual for you or was it a weird time where you had to change a lot of things?

[00:06:14] Matt Boulton: Well, it’s been a weird time for all of us. But it’s not a sort of two things. One, it’s highlighted, I think, technology for us and our ability to assist clients not only here in Brownsburg, but throughout the state without necessarily always meeting in person. We can do things with technology and email nowadays that necessarily we weren’t equipped to beforehand. So so it’s certainly highlighted the importance of technology and what we do. And it also in terms of the legal profession as a whole, it’s pushed everything back at least a year, if not eighteen months from civil jury trial standpoint. You know, we think about different impacts, but one thing, the courts are also shut down during the pandemic. So not only any cases scheduled during that time period, we’re obviously pushed back, but then there’s also the constitutionality of certain criminal cases take priority. Yeah. So those were backlogged as well. So so it’s really, from a civil case standpoint, has pushed back just the court system, potentially, like I said, a year to year and a half. Wow.

[00:07:18] Interviewer: So that really affects you guys in a big way, or is it just kind of what’s going on? But it’s they’re still able to shift things around and do OK?

[00:07:26] Matt Boulton: Correct. We’re still able to move things forward. You know, the ultimate decision-makers and in our cases or a jury of six people in a civil case, so many cases are resolved well short of trial. But like I said, that is the ultimate decision-maker in our case and ultimately the ultimate outcome of many of our cases.

[00:07:50] Interviewer: So one of the reasons we’re doing these videos is really to say thank you to you for not only being a member of our chamber, but just planting a business here and serving this community. We really do appreciate all the work that you’ve done and the investment you made into our community. Um, and one thing we’ve been asking everybody is what’s something you feel like you’ve gained by being a part of the chamber?

[00:08:13] Matt Boulton: Well, our membership in the chamber is an important part of our commitment to maintaining strong ties to the community, which we represent clients. Um, we talked a little bit earlier, um, we opened the firm in 2014 and my family and I moved out here in twenty fifteen when our oldest son was getting ready to be a freshman at the high school. And our our our youngest son is now a senior at the high school. So how time flies. But just being part of the community in so many ways is important to us. Again, where we used to live, we were part of a larger town and just never really felt that sense of community. So. So we love Brownsburg and the community, um, feel we get up every day. And part of a large part of that is being a part of the chamber and supporting local businesses as well.

[00:09:00] Interviewer: Awesome. Well, like I said, we’re really grateful to have you here in this community and appreciative of all the work that you’ve done and what you’re going to continue to do.

[00:09:08] Matt Boulton: Ok, thank you very much.

[00:09:09] Interviewer: Yeah, thank you. And thank you, everybody, for watching. We’ll see you next time.