I made the mistake during my first UIM mediation to not classify our offers as "new money." Created quite a shitshow, 100% my fault. UIM sucks.
UIM also sucks in texas beuause there is no bad faith. so state farm and allstate never offer shit and make you try the case and if you get a zillion dollar verdict they just cut you a check for the policy limit
Not calling you out specifically, but I hear Pltf lawyers cry "bad faith" so much when an insurer isn't immediately ready to offer limits that it rings pretty hollow. There are certainly merit-based bad faith claims, but that cause of action is so fucking abused by dumbass Pltf lawyers that don't want to do any work to prove their case.
i'm not mad when my client is 35k of bs medical bills and we get 30k from third party and the UIM doesn't want to cut a check. i do get mad when my client is an allstate policy holder for 15 years. never makes a claim. she gets seriously hurt with 100k in medical bills. she gets 30k from third party and allstate offers 2.5k and says the only way theyll offer more is if we get a judgment.
Yep, that's on the lawyer. I come to any mediation with an excel sheet with the formula to deduct expenses, atty fees, subros, etc. to show exactly where stuff goes and how much goes home with you.
same but with a pen and paper also the mediators we like to use begin each mediation explaining to my clients about how the settlement gets split up and that they will have to get a much bigger verdict at trial vs an offer at mediation just to get the same amount of take home money. if your mediator is just exchanging offers and counter offers my advice is to use someone else. the three guys we use are all booked 2 months out but it is worth waiting
pocket book disputes are not bad faith here. There's also no 3rd party bad faith. Basically they have to deny the claim when there's actually coverage to get bad faith on a UIM case here. I'm probably oversimplifying it but that's generally what it boils down to.
5. 4 paralegals and a receptionist. We revamped our PTO policy, offered raises, discussed health insurance and other fringe benefits. We told them what they did well, offered constructive criticism, and addressed their major points from the feed back sheets they turned in.
Had an interview with two partners today at a denver firm. Should I send the thank you e-mail today or Monday?
Plaintiff's lawyers, quick bit of advice -- don't go directly to an adjuster when you know that the defendant is represented. It's borderline unethical, and it's a complete lack of professional courtesy. I have a death case with insufficient limits where I'm trying to create coverage to reach a settlement. Shit brick plaintiff's lawyer (the husband of the real lawyer handling the case who acts as her glorified case manager) called the adjuster and implied that I'd told him something different than what I'd told the adjuster.
I always sent them the day of the interview. I'll add that I've gotten more job offers after interviews where I did not send a thank you note whatsoever than interviews where I did send a thank you note. I hate the damn thank you note.
I interview a lot of people, and thank you emails are a little awkward. There's an implied need to respond to an email, but often there's not really anything to be said at that point.
the majority, if not all, of the captured counsel/employee lawyers of state farm etc. in houston want you to go directly to the adjuster and not go to them. the outside firms all don't want you to. so i just always ask.
It's different when it's captive counsel. But, asking is the way to go in any situation. Nine times out of ten, I'd be cool with it if they asked ahead of time. But, this is a 1/10 situation and unbeknownst to him, he fucked himself.
i made the mistake once when i first started of calling an adjsuter when it was outside counsel and he sent me a nasty letter about how unethical i was. so i didn't make that mistake again. i've also been an enormous dick to that lawyer since because it was an honest mistake by a 1 year lawyer at the time. so, if he's misrepresetnging that you said then fuck that guy. if he's been licensed for 18 months and made a mistake call him and be like hey man don't do that
lawyers and adjusters who answer 1 of every 20 calls/emails could not be more annoying as fuck. i love when they respond that they're handling a bunch of cases/claims. we all are. one way to handle a few less is to answer the phone and try to resolve them.
I never know if hand-written notes come off as too try-hard. I know they are often preferable, but it obviously won't be received until Monday. At the same time, of all the interviews I had, I really want this offer. So I'll do whatever.
hand written notes are so rare that they are usually appreciated. i write like one a day and they are well received by everyone when your friends host a party or something, send a hand written thank you note. they will be like holy shit
I can't conceive of a person in a hiring position thinking that. As a general rule, people love the time, attention, and personalization involved.
Counter point the plaintiffs lawyer called the adjustor and settled a case scheduled for trial and saved me a ton of work. I guess I might think differently if I needed to bill
that is the feeling i always got when defense lawyers said no about negotiating with adjusters that they wanted to bill the time talking to me, then going to the adjuster, and then calling me back. an easy .5-6 when they get 0 if i just call
It has nothing to do with needing to bill. I have different duties and obligations than an adjuster and, often, different interests.
I have a shitbag Pltf attorney out here that always goes straight to the adjuster when negotiations get tough. After he did it twice, I had a third case with him -- started the deposition by asking his client if he was aware of our settlement offers, and then whether he was aware how much his attorney takes from the total settlement amount. He was not happy.
This is a fundamental misunderstanding of how the tripartate relationship works. The lawyer works for the client, not the insurance company. If you talk directly with an adjuster, you very often interfere with the defense counsel's ability to defend (and, more often than not, resolve) the case. I'm less inclined to try to save money than an adjuster will be, and I can advocate for your position, which is often in line with my client's -- i.e., getting the case resolved without them having to face the risk of excess. Obviously, it's not as big of a deal when you're talking about shitty whippy wheels cases, but it still can hurt you. And, beyond that, there's value in being a lawyer's lawyer. You'll do better and make more money long term if you "play ball."
May have my first jury trial October 7. Mediated last week and were nowhere close. Questionable liability, questionable damages, but the dude has refused to work for 4+ years and his chiro has orchestrated a ridiculous claim--he has a $400K comp lien that makes settlement impossible unless the comp carrier cuts their lien more than half. I have zero desire to go to trial. Ever. Too much fucking work, and I just can't get passionate about arguing over soft tissue injuries and lost wages. I'm perfectly happy billing 7-8 hours/day, leaving at 2:00 on Friday, and having a stress-free practice. I'm happy being labeled as a glorified insurance adjuster on this salary with this work-life balance. Please don't tell my boss.
which is why i always ask if i can call the adjuster. i give every single defense lawyer a break when they need one. i doubt you could find any of them in houston to say anything shitty about me other than i have a bunch of car wreck cases with chiro treatment. also, i know every defense lawyer says that they represent the client. i'm just not sure how many of them actually do
So fucking much this. It's infuriating dealing with a Pltf lawyer that has "drank the kool aid." You know how the game works, man. Don't be pontificating about trial and excess verdicts during our first conversation. Let's get your guy deposed, get an IME if necessary, and resolve this like 99.99999% of cases do.
if you have your first trial in october and it seems like you've been practicing 5+ years then that is a huge win for your lifestyle all things considered. i'm going to have 20+ trials next year at least
yes i often tell defense lawyers tell me what you need us to do to help you resolve the case. and then we do what they need us to do. and then the case is resolved.
Are you guys getting cme's/imes on every case? Also what do they usually cost you? We're paying like 7-8k for one and it seems outrageous Follow-up: what do the best mediators in your area charge
I've been very fortunate, September will be 7 years practicing. Have had one bench trial in rural Alabama that was a clusterfuck. Haven't really come close in WA until now. I got lucky and started out my practice working for large carriers and TPAs, mostly 18-wheelers and big commercial policies, and those are often times more risk management than practicing law. And I'm fine with that. Once I develop a rapport with some lawyers I can cut through the B/S. A lot of the smaller firms don't make money taking cases to trial, they make money settling cases. We both know it, but just can't say it out loud. But we both know how the game is played. I say "help me help you" 5-6x/week.
i'll tell you something that really pissed me off yesterday. in tx you can get business record and billing record affidavits for your medical providers. the billing affidavits are key because the providers can attest to the reasonableness of the bill and necessity of the treatment. you can serve these billing record affidavits on defense counsel and if they do not hire an expert and controvert the affidavit in 90 days then they cannot argue about the bill. if someone bills 100k for an mri and they don't controvert, then we can present that bill to the jury and defense lawyesr can only argue causation. so we have a mediation soon and i call defense lawyers and i'm like hey we sent affidavits in january and i'm getting ready for this mediation and we don't have anything saved in our file about your affidavits. can you let me know if i missed them or if yall decided not to controvert. 4 hours later they e-serve controverting affidavits with timely notary stamped affidavits and this associate tries to pass it off as if they were timely served. i finally get in touch with his boss and he is like i don't know why my associate did that we fucked up and i'm going to have a talk with him. guess who is never getting another break ever again.
In my experience in Alabama, IMEs weren't even worth the paper they were printed on. In WA they actually have some force, so we get them in most every case where Pltf claims he is still hurt/still treating. If they're not treating, we just get a records review. It's more so you just have something at mediation to show the other side.
$800 half day $1500 full day per party. if it's a super complex case they will charge more. i've only had one IME in my career of handling 2500+ clients. just doesn't happen here
I'm dealing with some dingbat here who says there's surgical recommendations and great records from a doctor. I've subpoenaed the doctor but they take an eternity to cough up the records. Plaintiff has refused to actually go get the records and give them to me. Now he's sending angry emails threatening to refuse the limits if they're not offered by xyz date when he refused to help me get the info I need to resolve the case.
i mean if you don't have the records how can he have that position? if that happened here defense counsel would file a motion to compel and then another motion for sanctions if i didn't have a good reason for not getting them the records.
I helped draft a complaint last week and it's the closest I've ever gotten to a bona fide legal dispute between private parties. Shit was wild.
Application to the Oregon Bar is done, once I complete 15 hours of Oregon-specific CLEs I'll be admitted. Wasn't even my suggestion, but I'm pro-hac'd in on 4-5 Oregon cases for one client, so my boss and the client recommended it. I'll only be the 3rd in our 30-lawyer firm that's licensed in both WA and OR, so I guess that's good job security. Firm readily footed the bill, so must be doing something right. One of the partners suggested I could just take the OR bar and it'd be cheaper than the reciprocity filing fees. We both had a good laugh at that one.
https://www.theolympian.com/news/lo...t9htou6Up-i_6gBUYQij8ywqCJPU01R6_fz3Va6xUnqDQ Southbound I-5 closed for 3 hours Tuesday morning after woman jumps from overpass Had to deal with this earlier in the week. We have dashcam footage of the whole thing--you see her fall from the bridge and then right in the front of our tractor-trailer, he couldn't do anything to avoid it. Apparently this is the 3rd-4th suicide from this bridge in the past 5 or so years. They've put a huge fence up to prevent it, this lady bought a ladder from Target and then immediately went and climbed over the fence. Ugh.
wes tegg , you ever threatened an Accountability Act claim before? Got a letter today demanding we dismiss or they'll file. I got a nice little laugh out of that.