Just my opinion (and granted I haven't litigated since I was a baby lawyer years ago), but I've always thought mandatory mediation imposed by courts was absolute bullshit and par for the course for the archetypal state court judge who is too lazy to hear cases and too cowardly render opinions, and it's destructive to the legal system--at least it's shown to be here in Texas. I also think the notion that anyone should ever be compelled to mediate in good faith is just asinine. If your client firmly believes in his position and wants the matter resolved in court, who the fuck is the judge to tell him he must spend time and money mediating the case, let alone do so "in good faith"? That said, a genuine congrats on getting that order.
I would say everybody but Allstate hates Allstate, but it’s impossible for me to believe that the people who work for Allstate enjoy turning every fender bender into a SCOTUS case, so I’m going to assume that *everybody* hates Allstate.
Reread the fact section of the order. Allstate agreed to the mediation. The order was entered based -- at least in part -- on their agreement to mediate.
My favorite is when we mediate with Allstate and they increase their offer less than the mediators fee. Most of the in house lawyers for allstate here last about 18 months. They all try 20-40 cases a year. One guy I had a depo with pre corona had 8 trial settings on one Monday and ended up trying 3 cases over a two week period Being required to mediate simple injury cases is good because there are a million of them and most are the same and don’t need to be tried. Most courts in Houston require us to mediate but you can always object to it.
That’s as good as the Nationwide defense lawyer getting personally sanctioned a year or so ago. Hate AllState. That case I mentioned where they started paying medical bills from PI before even getting a release, adjuster now refuses to respond to my letters/phone call. Idiot doesn’t seem to realize that while the wreck happened in a relatively mild venue, both parties reside in an incredibly Plaintiff friendly venue.
Plaintiff lawyer frustration. Have a parent of individual hurt in a very bad accident where hit by 18 wheeler coming to my office yesterday to see about hiring us. By time he gets there learns his daughter saw a commercial on television and hired a law firm out of Atlanta to represent her in West Alabama.
And for the trifecta, Gallant Knight or anybody ever had a MVA with a FedEx ground 18 wheel? Wondering if they have cameras in cab. Got a case that seems a little iffy on liability, not an amazing venue, will turn it down if they do.
For the Alabama lawyers, Plaintiff and Defendant both reside in County B. MVA in County A. Plaintiff transported to hospital in County A. Plaintiff has follow up treatment with doctors in County B and County A. Obviously venue is proper in either county. County B is a much much more Plaintiff friendly venue. Chances I can survive a forum challenge?
Most of their newer trucks do, or should. Would just send a spoliation letter/discovery on the same. Let me know if they chap your ass. They're difficult to deal with, especially in terms of giving up clearly non-proprietary material.
I'm just wondering if I should take the case. Truck hit my client in rear passenger door as she's crossing a 4 lane highway. Seems at least very plausible that she pulled out in front of the truck. Trying to decide if its worth my time.
I once had an AL plaintiff's lawyer tell me if the venue is right, he'll take any tractor-trailer case without knowing any facts. That lawyer was for Cunningham Bounds, but point stands if the venue is right. Tort hell is a real thing.
If the liability is in their favor, they're going to give you that video pretty quickly. If you file a forum non conveniens motion to keep the venue away from where your client lives, you're not winning that motion. I think you're good.
Oh absolutely. If this was Greene/Sumter/Hale/Perry etc. I wouldn't blink. This would be in Jefferson. I've often joked that a wreck that didn't even happen is worth $20,000 in certain counties in the Black Belt.
Had a state farm adjuster call me this morning and tell me that my case was in Alabama thus collateral source was in play and thus offered $6,000 on $13,000 in meds MVA. I told her it was a MS case, she apologized and would reevaluate and call me back. She just called and offered $9,874-still less than meds. Proceeded to tell me some nonsense about how they consider medicare reimbursement rates not the actual charges.
On the AllState case that I mentioned in here before about them paying some of my client's bills when she was pro se but never signed a release. I've got 11,000 in meds, and they've offered $13,000. Told me that was it and there would be no reevaluation. They are now going to be defending a lawsuit in arguably the most Plaintiff's friendly venue in the entire state. Pure stupidity.
going to put in my notice tomorrow. There is a mediation and a settlement conference the week after my intended last day. Should i stay on an extra week or should i just reschedule them?
I despise talking to adjusters. I almost never engage in pre-suit discussions. Get it filed and let me at least talk to someone like wes tegg who actually understands how it works.
if you do any sort of volume PI work you can't file suit every time. You can legitimately settle cases pre suit. But yah I end up filing suit a good bit because adjusters just tell me a bunch of bullshit during negotiations and low ball. Then low and behold a litigation adjuster gets assigned and evaluates the case differently. I figure that they know that a certain amount of BS plaintiff lawyers will actually settle for the low ball amounts . Therefore part of the protocol is to negotiate at super low numbers and see if you have a bullshit plaintiff lawyer that will just take it.
Yeah, I don’t have a huge volume of PI cases, but usually the ones I do have worth vastly greater than medical bills because of venue. Adjusters never ever seem to get it.
Anyone of you guys have any suggestions or advice on employment contracts ? Any advice or help appreciated.
Feel free to shoot me a pm if you’d like. I’m a management side employment attorney, meaning I represent employers. I abhor employment contracts for the most part, outside of a high level, highly compensated executive scenario. But like everything else in law, it’s situationally dependent and I would need greater detail to give you any type of potentially beneficial insight.
My score is in. It was the lowest score that I would be happy with. It will be more than enough to get me into the two schools I am looking at for Fall 2020; I just need to raise it 3 points to give myself a solid shot at getting into another school that I am looking at as a transfer option. Overall, it is good news. Next test in 10 days.
Kid doesn’t wanna go to the dad’s and wants to stay with mom; they only have a verbal agreement what can the mom do? State is pa anyone that can help please dm me
I have somehow been dragged into a coverage dispute that involves an Indiana policy and an impending dec action that’s going to be filed 4 hours away. not sure what I did to deserve this.
Left my shitty job a while back, and I'm in the initial phase of starting a solo practice. Already got a nice injury case that I could see being a decent payout down the road, but I'm nervous about income in the mean time. My very shitty business "plan" -- Background is 100% plaintiff side injury/disability cases. I'd love to continue this type of work, but I plan on taking whatever I can get for a year or two. The area I'm from is rural and spaced out, but the county is decently populated compared to most of the counties in the state. The "city" where most businesses/courts are located is about 15-30 minutes away from most of the other populated towns/areas in the county. There are a bunch of attorneys in the city, but little to none in the rural areas. I'm thinking about opening my physical office near one of the more populated rural town in an attempt to capture that market. A bank shut down recently and is for sale super cheap, so I already got a spot scoped out. Huge risk of taking on that property if I fail. Another background is that there was an attorney in this town before, but he was recently disbarred for ethics violations. So I could fill that void I guess. Last, I'm in a rural coal mining area that is devoid of bankruptcy attorneys, and considering the economic situation nationally/decline of coal, I'm currently studying that area of law, hoping to catch a few of those cases. If I like it/am good at it, maybe I could maybe transition to that "niche" market. If not, transition from a general practice and hopefully specialize in injury/disability cases. Anyone have thoughts/tips?
Go to a local bank and get a line of credit. It will help you not suffocate under low cash flow during the first few months. How many people are in your area
Also set your firm up as an s Corp and pay yourself a salary to save on payroll taxes. I didn’t my first year because I didn’t know any better and had to pay like 20k in unexpected payroll taxes it was not fun
ukcats8 talk to a CPA before doing this. It probably makes sense, but your CPA who knows your personal financial and tax situation is in a much better place to tell you whether an S election is the right choice rather than some guy on the internet. Get them to model the entity choices for you.
National CPA firm recommended me as legal counsel for a particular area of tax. Potential client and referral source are both on the other side of the country. That’s the third such referral in 2 months.