old boss has i doubt Jamail was always that way and you’ve had a good seat to see what not to do if you don’t want everyone to hate you!
My Federal Courts class is composed of the entire editorial board of the law review and two state representatives, what the fuck was I thinking?
I decided a long time ago that I was going to be very selective in picking my battles. I deal with so many of the same defense lawyers that it’s just so much more beneficial to my clients for us to have a good working relationship. And when you don’t fight over everything, and don’t demand the moon on everything, they take you very serious when you do.
And, since we normally get along well, when some billboard firm runs the case out from under me, they bring me in on this defense side, so it’s also good for business.
My conundrum is I need to get more trial work in but I always get reasonable /good offers on cases that I intend to try and I don't have many no offer or super shitty offer cases to take to trial.
try a couple good ones so you don’t have to try any for a few years. best lawyer in atlanta tries 3 cases then takes 1-2 years off and does almost nothing. Last cycle it was 2 shooting cases and a trucking case and he got around $170mm total. He’s also a legendary asshole.
Already experiencing this on a small scale. Farmers called and offered underinsured limits today on a case with no offer for over two years a direct result of my verdict against them last week
Guys I got some kind of retention bonus thing at work that I don’t fully understand when/if it would pay out. I already signed it long ago because why not. Should I seek out a lawyer to translate it for me? What kinda lawyer?
It really wouldn't be hard to get a client to go to trial on these. Whenever you communicate a reasonable offer to a client that had even moderate injuries they think it is a terrible offer. Especially when they see what they are getting after fees and expenses.
This is what I am trying to do. I’ll start every case playing nice, until I’m given a reason not to. 90% of the time so far it’s been a cordial working relationship. The other 10% I’m out for blood and won’t give an inch when settlement discussions finally start. I don’t care if certain OCs think I’m am an ass hole because they always threw the first punch so I don’t give a shit what they think about me.
Following up on this, when you have a decent offer but your client elects to go to trial, do you get them to sign something saying they've been offered X, they've been advised that the cost of taking the trial to trial could be Y and that they may get a better or worse result at trial, and that they've elected to go to trial. That way they can't try to sue you or file a bar complaint later?
is there a free legal research database out there that is decent? got asked to look into a matter for a friend
I simply use Google a lot of the time. If it's a pretty well-researched topic, you'll get CLE powerpoints or blog posts from attorney's websites.
Always do this. Takes very little time, covers your ass, and half the time my client sees what I’m asking them to sign and starts to think “oh shit he’s not joking when he says I should take this offer” and takes the money.
Maybe it’s just GA but we get free access to FastCase I think it is. I barely ever have to do legal research though because most WC issues are just the same shit over and over. Usually just fact determinations too.
I have plans on becoming a mediator at some point in the future. When I was on defense, I was fair and easy to get along with. Now as a claimant’s attorney, I am reasonable, lighthearted, and easy to get along with. I have my enemies, but it’s usually the same people everyone else hates too. Most of both sides of the bar like me, and that will hopefully help me get out of this litigation rat race and print 150k mediating 2-4 days a week in a few years.
It's funny-when the velvet hammer was blogging on the national trial lawyer list serve and giving us the day by day breakdown of the ducks trial, everyone was up her butt telling her how great she is. Then this fat Canadian balding white dude that practices in Canada decided he was going to start posting a blow by blow of all his trials on the list serve and no one gives a shit or responds to it.
I would rather do soft tissue workers comp cases than have to read plaintiffs listservs on a daily basis. The people on there are the absolute worst.
Had to order the transcript. It says exactly what I claimed it did. OC is still contesting it. Told him he has until Monday to agree to my order, reimburse me for the transcript, and pay me two hours in fees for wasting my time or I file a motion for sanctions at 5:01. I know nobody really cares, but I need a place to vent about this kind of stuff so I don’t bring it home to the family.
Plaintiff lawyers: when someone asks you what kind of law you do , do you say you're a plaintiff lawyer, personal injury lawyer, ambulance chaser or something else? I've found that for more than half of ppl , if I tell them I'm a plaintiff lawyer they have no clue what that means. If you tell people you are a personal injury attorney, they immediately assume the worst.
I say insurance attorney then if asked, say I represent homeowners against insurance companies for homeowners insurance claims. It benefits me to say what side I’m on because you never know when it gets you a case.
To the average Joe, that sounds more admirable than the Innocence Project. People hate insurance companies.
6 emails back and forth this morning where he accuses me of sending emails just to rack up billing, but he hasn't had time to read the 15 page transcript to confirm that the judge ruled in my favor. I honestly can't believe this guy.
I've found that at least 50% of the general public doesn't identify "trial lawyer" with plaintiff trial lawyer or suing people in damages cases. They really don't know what it means. More educated and older people typically know what it means.
They ask what a safety lawyer is/does and I say I hold big corporations and insurance companies accountable so that our community stays safe
the average federalist society judge would get chased off of TMB for being too goddamned stupid yet instead they get to be federal judges.
The fifth circuit is one of the reasons I got it if litigation. Got disillusioned with the whole process from judges to juries to the attorneys.
I haven’t tried a case where this has come up but I mean is the defense strategy of calling a plaintiff fat actually a good idea? It sounds moronic to me
Sued Lyft and their lawyers CCed 6 people to ask if he could have a 2 week extension on filing an answer. Bill baby bill