Lawyer thread

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jax Teller, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    Welp fellas, big mile stone for me today as I settled my first 7 figure case. It was a commercial vehicle wrongful death claim. Settled for $1,150,000. All day settlement conference with federal magistrate. Had a $313k comp lien to deal with. Meds were $548k. The decedent was 80 years old and we have a $1M cap on general damages. My home run number was a little over $1.6M. $125k of it was a lost wages/lost military pension/lost SSI claim. They completely wrote that off , said it was legally impossible since the children were adults and not dependents (they are wrong on that) , and that we'd look greedy asking for lost wages and military pension etc for a guy that they didn't even depend on or live with. Thus they considered my home run as $1,548,000. Liability wasn't really in question. I was hoping to get $1.3M or $1.2M. The guy lived for 23 days after the wreck with a laundry list of fractures and internal injuries and surgeries. He was conscience and coherent even though he was on a vent. He was able to pass notes to family members and respond to commands. They tried to argue that he died of a PE , not the wreck. And of course they argued he was only a few years away from his life expectancy anyways. Multiple lawyers told me that they thought it wasn't guaranteed that I'd get the $1M cap on generals just because I had a dead client. I felt like with the injuries he had , the time he suffered, and his children's' suffering, I would get the $1M in generals. We were able to get the comp lien down by 25% which was around a $79k reduction. Comp is statutorily entitled to their lien dollar for dollar so I felt like that was a solid reduction. I'm pretty pleased with the settlement.
     
    #17601 RJF-GUMP, Feb 7, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2023
  2. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
    Donor
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    Congrats dude! Drinking another mezcal in your honor
     
  3. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
    Donor
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    I am too tired to read all that, but congrats!
     
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  4. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    Congrats. Sounds like a good day at the office.

    I’ve got a possibility for 2 7 figure licks set for trial at the end of March. Keeping my fingers crossed.
     
  5. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    I've had a lot of $200k, $300k, some $500ks, and a $750k, but the 7 figure cases have proven elusive.
     
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  6. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    Yeah, it all evens out. I’m in a much more generous venue than you, but my case load is lower, so have to make them count. One of the two I’m going to have to try is probably a two week trial, and should’ve settled. Not looking forward to it.
     
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  7. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
    Donor
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    Jealous of you plaintiff guys and your contingency fees.

    Let me know when you need consultation on securities law issues and threading a needle through ~70 contracts executed simultaneously in a deal closing.
     
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  8. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
    Donor
    Nebraska CornhuskersDenver NuggetsDenver BroncosColorado AvalanceBorussia DortmundManchester UnitedColorado State Rams

    2021 was 2400 for me. I was more than happy to lower my pie consumption a bit
     
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  9. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Congrats! Nicely done.
     
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  10. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
    Donor
    Tennessee VolunteersLos Angeles DodgersBuffalo BillsBuffalo Sabres

    I’m 1900 with 1800 expected. I find my life pleasant
     
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  11. herb.burdette

    herb.burdette Meet me at the corner of 8th and Worthington
    Donor
    Ohio State Buckeyes

    2000 pushes the edge of work/life balance for me.
     
  12. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideSeattle MarinersAtlanta BravesNew Orleans Saints

    My 1099 for my old firm said 890 hours. With my other clients and work I was probably between 1,100 - 1,200.

    Fucking perfect.
     
  13. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideSeattle MarinersAtlanta BravesNew Orleans Saints

    My old firm in Alabama had the most ridiculous hours/bonus policy. To be eligible for a bonus, you had to bill "100 more than the previous year."

    It was regular for associates to go to docket call for 3-4 cases and, if it was a different carrier, bill 3-4x for driving to/from Courthouse for each case. Easy way to bill 8-9 hours before noon. Was especially beneficial if the docket call was in the sticks.
     
  14. electronic

    electronic It’s satire!
    Donor
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    People actually do this? Holy shit.
     
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  15. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    There are times that I wonder if I made the right choice in what type of practice I do.

    Then I read y’all billing 2,000+ hours. I’m not even in the office for 2,000 hours a year. That just sounds awful.
     
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  16. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideSeattle MarinersAtlanta BravesNew Orleans Saints

    I've got several stories like that. I've had partners at both the firms I've worked for encourage unethical billing tactics. On the flip side, when I was clerking a partner received a letter from a carrier stating they were cutting all attorney's bills by 15%, no matter what. Like, WTF?

    It's just an endless, cynical cycle. The carrier is going to cut your bills, sometimes for perfectly valid work. That will then make the lawyers overcharge on pretty much everything. Every 0.1 becomes a 0.2 and so on.

    This spawned an entire industry of bill auditors and non-lawyers questioning a lawyer's work. Capitalism at its finest.
     
  17. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    :roll: that’s straight up fraud. We had a lot of folks with some questionable “value billing” tactics, but we fired someone for doing what you described.
     
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  18. electronic

    electronic It’s satire!
    Donor
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    I worked with a big firm for almost 15 years, and I never heard of anybody actually doing that. Any sort of internal or external file audit should immediately flag that.

    I will say that I did see some year end numbers from associates and partners that strained credulity, but we would’ve fired folks immediately for shit like that.
     
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  19. harvey birdman

    harvey birdman Ha ha! Last laugh.
    Donor
    ArsenalFlorida Gators

    We had a client that would only pay .1 for any written documents. The only things they would pay more for were hearings and review. But you had to state the specific document which you could only review once through the life of the case.
     
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  20. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    I was always 2200 to 2400. The trick with insurance carriers is that most will not complain about entries for updating them. So, I reported every single thing I did, and I got pre approval for most things people would get their time cut. When I had 80+ matters, it wasn’t unusual to send 40+ emails to adjusters a day.
     
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  21. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    My last partner used to bill over 600 hours a month. Never could figure out how he got away with it for decades.
     
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  22. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    Just keep twisting the knife
     
  23. SmoochieWallace

    SmoochieWallace Ipse dixit
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    I billed 2,400 my last two years as an associate. Never again.
     
  24. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
    Donor
    Nebraska CornhuskersDenver NuggetsDenver BroncosColorado AvalanceBorussia DortmundManchester UnitedColorado State Rams

    lmao
     
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  25. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
    Donor
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    I'm horrible at tracking non-billable time, but I probably had ~1,900-2,100 hours in total last year across billable and non-billable matters. I also took off probably about 5 weeks over the course of the year, so wasn't all bad. Went to Italy for 2 weeks in September, and the time leading up to the trip and the time afterward completely killed my billable hour "momentum," so I had a pretty bad 6-8 weeks around the trip.

    Just increased my rate for the third time in a year so that I can go visit Nug in Mexico and not really have to worry about it so long as I get my shit done
     
  26. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
    Donor
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    Fuck that
     
  27. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    There was a dude in Birmingham who had a really good book of business and did similar. He got notified of an audit by one of his big clients, “decided to retire,” withdrew his equity from an operating account, and is now involved in a lawsuit with his other partners now that the firm dissolved. So, be glad you left.
     
  28. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    Come join me readjusting the equities in the middle of nowhere.
     
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  29. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
    Donor
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    I think often about switching to plaintiff's work but the most I know about civ pro is that 12(b)(6) is something relevant to something
     
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  30. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
    Donor
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    But if you need an expert on IRC 707 partnership-partner transactions, I got you
     
    Z likes this.
  31. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    That wouldn’t even crack the top 10 list of reasons for why I’m glad I left.
     
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  32. SmoochieWallace

    SmoochieWallace Ipse dixit
    Donor
    Florida GatorsTampa Bay RaysTampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay LightningArsenal

    It’s litigation, so I had the luxury of some “easier” hours (e.g., travel, defending depositions, discovery nonsense). But it wasn’t great.
     
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  33. CF3234

    CF3234 Fan of: Bandwagons
    Donor TMB OG
    Miami HurricanesMiami MarlinsMiami DolphinsFlorida PanthersTiger WoodsInter Miami CFGame of ThronesMiami Heat

    67 cases settled. 1.6 million in my clients pockets. Plaintiff's attorney life :blessed:


    Was proud of that number until I see some of you PI guys getting 1.5 million in one shot.
     
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  34. herb.burdette

    herb.burdette Meet me at the corner of 8th and Worthington
    Donor
    Ohio State Buckeyes

    Our associate bonuses have an objective and subjective component. For a subjective bonus, you have to be nominated. For an objective bonus, if you hit certain thresholds you get paid the bonus.
     
  35. Bricktop the white

    Bricktop the white Well-Known Member


    I'm jealous of the plaintiff's guys with great cases.

    I spent most of my morning getting screamed at by some guy with a 10k case because he didn't understand how to use his rental car reimbursement.
     
  36. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideArsenal

    The less hurt they are the more they complain.

    people who are hurt don’t have time to complain because they’re trying to get better.
     
  37. harvey birdman

    harvey birdman Ha ha! Last laugh.
    Donor
    ArsenalFlorida Gators

    It would be interesting to see if gender or race play a factor in the subjective components for systems like this.
     
  38. herb.burdette

    herb.burdette Meet me at the corner of 8th and Worthington
    Donor
    Ohio State Buckeyes

    We have a chief diversity officer as part of our management team whose job it is to see that it doesn’t.
     
    electronic likes this.
  39. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Some of my coworkers just got a $1.3mm verdict in a car wreck case in one of the traditionally most “defense friendly” venues in the state. Inflation, anger with authority, hatred of insurance, whatever it may be — verdicts are getting bigger across the board.
     
  40. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    It’s beautiful.
     
  41. herb.burdette

    herb.burdette Meet me at the corner of 8th and Worthington
    Donor
    Ohio State Buckeyes

    You guys keep this up and you’re going to get tort reformed.
     
  42. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    Let’s wait a few more years before starting such talk!
     
  43. herb.burdette

    herb.burdette Meet me at the corner of 8th and Worthington
    Donor
    Ohio State Buckeyes

    Better start donating to Ron’s campaign.
     
  44. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    sounds a lot tighter than what i'll be doing next two days with a hard cap of 30k of what we can recover
     
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  45. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    another 2 days closer to be board certified tho so fuck it
     
  46. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideArsenal

    1.3 million in cullman is like 1.3 billion elsewhere
     
  47. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideSeattle MarinersAtlanta BravesNew Orleans Saints

    I'm defending a CDL driver's depo, Pltf lawyer has never taken a depo of truck driver before. Does not understand the difference between independent contractor or employee, spent 30 minutes on this alone. Thought our driver was trying to get out of the insurance coverage, even after I went off the record and tried to explain it to her.

    She is now fascinated by going through her first driving e-log. We're 1.5 hours in and haven't gotten to the accident yet.

    Oh well. I'm about to take my shirt off on Zoom.
     
  48. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    :roll:
     
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  49. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
    Donor
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    waiting on the verdict
     
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  50. electronic

    electronic It’s satire!
    Donor
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    When did deliberations start?
     
    #17650 electronic, Feb 8, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2023
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