We don't have the tax dollars here to appoint lawyers to defend parents that are going to have rights terminated. They either pony up and get private attorney or go pro se.
Just starting a highly contentious mediation, Plaintiff demanded a half-day although we thought a full day was necessary. Our Octogenarian mediator has spent the first 22 minutes explaining what mediation is, and how Zoom works. This is going well.
Plaintiff think he's going to bounce you into a quick settlement? Seems like a horrible strategy to get case settled.
Depo of treating physician this morning in comp case noticed by OC: -Me at the beginning of the depo on the record-I don't think objections should be to form because this is an evidentiary deposition. -OC: I don't agree with that. -Me: well, when are we going to get page and line rulings on the objections? -OC: whenever the appropriate time to do that is (fyi I've never seen an ALJ rule on page and line objections for a doc depo). Me: Ok, I'll just obect to form. During my direct/cross: OC long speaking objections
playing in a member guest golf tournament next week that i've played in for the last 10-12 years. found out last week we are 15th on the docket for one of the few judges that is trying cases right now. looks like 1, 2, and 4 are all going if called. #blessed
This was good: -OC: So when the claimant told you she never had preexisting knee complaints, and then you see this record of her complaining of severe knee pain a few days prior to the subject injury, what does that tell you? -Doc: that she isn’t a truthful historian....
I already knew that he would testify like that because I met with the doctor last week to prep for the depo. I already determined that we had to drop the knee claim. She has a shoulder claim too and he’s relating her need for shoulder surgery to the subject incident. I said on the record at the start of the deposition that we were dropping the knee claim. Tried to minimize the damage. Still kinda brutal.
It has been one of those days that makes me loathe being a lawyer. There's too many idiots in this profession. I have been arguing with a defense lawyer in a negligent security case over whether he is entitled to get my decedent's entire cell phone and have unfettered access to the whole fucking thing. He said that we should both download it and then he won't look at the data. I asked why he would need to download the data if he isn't going to look at it, seeing as it will still exist with the police department and that we will produce everything responsive to an actual discovery request. I have asked him to just tell me what he wants and I'm sure we can work out the scope of the production. "The whole damn thing" isn't an appropriate request. He has ignored the questions for four emails now. I have a small hunch that he doesn't have a clue what he's looking for and would definitely take a peek at the data. This ends with me yelling at him in depositions next week and sending a subpoena for forensic imaging of every managerial level employee's cell phones, computers and the email servers of the parent corporation and the subsidiary that owned and managed the property.
The sad fact is that some people in the world regardless of profession don’t care what they are asked to do as long as the check clears.
We use docusign for sending contracts electronically to customers. However, I was just told by a docusign sales rep that we would need a commercial account which is 4 figures per month in order to send docusign documents through text to a cell phone. I know there are other services out there that do the same thing as docusign and let you submit documents for signing through text message at a much lower rate. What are you all using and how much does it cost per month? Looking for a service that lets you text contracts and other documents that clients can sign electronically through their cell phones. Thanks!
New attorney played hard ball and chopped my fees down a little bit, but got the cases settled. Kicked off a bit of a hot streak and have settled 5 more cases all with decent fees in a week. #LookAtMe.
About $50k more than our requested authority, but the old man got it settled at around 3 pm. So I guess my bitching was unwarranted. First time for everything.
Somedays make up for all the collective shit we endure in this profession. Today was one of them for me. I hope my luck finds its way to this thread.
today the buffoon I'm going back and forth with suggested that we ask a senior federal judge to hold a conference call instead of filing briefs.
I just had the pleasure of cross-examining my 7 year old daughter about her day. The bad news: she’s definitely a liar. The worse news: she’s a pretty darn good liar.
lady accidentally called our law firm and was like hey my name is XX i'm on my way to pick up my file. she said her name and my associate came in and was like uhhhhh we don't have anyone by that name in our system. so i get on the phone and i'm like hey are you calling gallant knight law firm? she was like omg no i don't know how this happened. then shes like i fired this lawyer and i'm going to need someone new. was like well what happened maybe we can help. dump truck did an illegal u turn and are already offering $125k to settle her case. sounds like old lawyer was pretty much fired for cause for no communication and then filing lawsuit without telling her because the statute was about to run.
served on traffic court jury once. Not sure how I made it through edit: obviously traffic court so not the most interesting but the deliberation was still interesting to be part of
Tried to run the formula for the social security offset for workers comp lump sum formula. My brain hurts. You can put the language in the order amortizing it over their lifetime but I'm never sure if that actually works. I wonder how often a complete set off of SSDI benefits actually happens and for how long. And why does having this magic language in the order need to happen. Shouldn't they just assume that everyone does not want an offset?
Two $100,000 limits offers from Allstate this month apparently if your client is very fucked up they will pay!
Admitted liability case with $11K in medicals. Parking lot accident between two tractor trailers, we bumped another truck and guy fell out of his sleeper berth, injuring shoulder. Our employee-driver was fired as a result of this accident. During my initial interview, dude is "fuck that company, fuck this, fuck that, I'm not cooperating, etc." Whatever, not the first or last time this has happened. Nug: hey, we have serious issues with our driver, need to be careful and probably settle this quickly. Client: fuck that! this guy isn't hurt. Let's propound new discovery to clarify his damages - I think he's faking! Nug: Ok, but they'll probably demand our driver's depo, that could be bad Client: fuck that! [super aggressive discovery issued on a $11K admitted liability case] [Plaintiff demands our driver's depo] Client: how do we want to handle this? Think Plaintiff would be reasonable about an opening demand? Spoiler
lol is there seriously a traffic court with a jury? I was a juror right before my 3L year on a domestic violence case (the week after I was excused from a murder case in another state - the only two times I’ve been called). Would be weird to say I enjoyed it, but I’m glad I had the opportunity.
yep. It was amazing. Guy was a commercial trucker and couldn’t afford points on his license so he took it to trial. I sat there all day as they recycled the pool until the day was over. Got picked for like the last trial. As a fourth or fifth year attorney it was pretty great insight to a jury with no real consequences. found the guy not guilty actually too because the cop had no evidence other than “I’m trained to tell how fast someone is going.”
Tried my first jury trial since Covid this week. We struck the jury in jury assembly, with the 42 person panel spread out across the huge room built to seat 400. That plus the masks made it almost impossible to get anybody to say anything. I really stressed over my strikes with less information than usual, and plaintiff’s counsel just struck the white people.
Mediation today. Told OC last week $150k wouldn't get it done. Mediator convinced me I overvalued the case and we left the mediation with us making a $135k bottom line take it or leave it offer and OC saying give him a week to work on his client. Hate that I went under the $150k. Oh well.
Do you have to have compensatory damages for punitives in your venue? BEcause otherwise they could file a MIL re the bills and proceed with just the records , ask for pain and suffering and move on to punitives and turn a $11k case into a big case. That would be awesome.
Thankfully, punitive are super rare in WA and OR. In WA, they're only by statute, and in OR, you have to petition the Court with evidence to get the right to plead punitives.
So basically yall should admit liability, admit vicarious liability, tell the Plaintiff that any direct negligence claims are now redundant and subject to MSJ, and they can take your $20k offer or get fucked
plot twist! OR case, which allows for stupid entrustment claims that gets Pltf counsel hard as a diamond in a snowstorm (even when you admit vicarious liability, or outright admit negligence). In WA they're dismissed once you admit vicarious liability. WA and OR law are much more different than I ever would have thought. I guess OR is different from fucking everywhere with no expert discovery and "trial by ambush."
This is theoretically the law in Florida, and yet judges are too fucking stupid to understand that no direct negligence claim against the employer exists when the employer admits the employee was in the course and scope. So I still have to deal with stupid discovery wild goose chases that should never happen in the first place.