litiGator
New York, NY
Male, 34
I represent all types of accident victims who have suffered injuries through the fault of others. Whether it's a motor vehicle accident, trip/slip and fall, injured on the job, wrongful death, products liability, toxic torts and many more, I help my clients receive compensation for their medical bills, lost time from work and the pain and suffering they have endured and will continue to endure from their accident.
I don't know if this would fall under the category of frivolous since the woman had a legitimate claim, but it's definitely the case that made me feel the most uneasy about what I do. A woman was at a church watching a Christmas pageant when she was struck in the head by a mentally handicapped person sitting behind her. We sued the church for failing to provided adequate security for the guests at the play. Every time I was in court on the case, I felt extremely self-conscious about my peers hearing the details of the case.
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The bottom line is, if you don't feel you can be fair and impartial based on the facts of the case which the attorneys tell you about during jury selection, then you won't be on the jury. For example, if you're sitting on a car accident case and either you or somebody close to you in your life has been in a car accident and that experience would make it difficult for you to judge the facts of the case fairly, then you will be dismissed from the jury for cause.
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It really depends on the type of case you're talking about and why the evidence wasn't uncovered initially. Most likely, no, you won't be able to re-open your case and you would be SOL. However, if you find out that the opposing side was intentionally withholding the information, you may be able to get a judge to re-open the case, but again, it depends on the type of case and in what manner the case resolved. If you lost the case, you can always appeal with the new information. In civil cases (personal injury lawsuits), there is actually a motion called a "motion to renew" which is brought when one side uncovers new information. But if you settled your case, it is more difficult to re-open the case.
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First and foremost, no, I would never half-ass it. Whether I agree with the lawsuit or not, the people who bring them were legitimately injured and deserve the best representation possible. As for picking and choosing my cases, no I can't. The senior partner assigns the cases to each attorney in the office. However, I am lucky to work at a firm that is reputable enough that we don't have to take each and every case that comes through the door. The partners screen every case before being retained, so while every case that we get may not be huge, they are also thankfully not frivolous.
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My firm's biggest win was $8.5 million. That was about two years ago. I assisted one of the partners on a mediation that settled for $2.25 million dollars. As for me, my largest that I received alone was a $550,000 verdict I got at trial about two years ago. However, like I tell all my clients, you don't want an injury that's worth this kind of money. There's no amount of money that's worth the pain and suffering endured in these cases. For example, the $8.5 million case involved a nine-year-old boy whose leg was amputated below the knee after scaffolding fell on him.
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No problem. Yes, Judges are subject to quotas. However, the more important question is, do the judges care? Some do and some don't. The ones that do try very hard to settle cases prior to trial. This way they move the case and they can get a new trial. The more they move, the better it looks for them if they want to get ahead (become an appellate court judge, etc). However, all too often, judges simply don't care. They're content with what they do, and if they're not looking to get ahead, there's no incentive for them to work hard. But there are some who do want bigger and better things, and when you get assigned to those judges, you definitely feel fortunate.
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I think it really depends on the person. I, for example, do not take offense. I take it with a grain of salt and just laugh at it. However, there are attorneys out there who are highly offended by it. The main reason is that “ambulance chasing” really isn’t as prevalent as it once was. Back in the 70's and 80's, there were a lot of “runners” employed by firms who had hook-ups at hospitals and police stations that would alert them to potential cases (this is where the term came from). This is highly unethical and illegal. Now, however, it’s more about the advertising, which is completely ethical and legal. So some attorneys do get offended since that’s really not the way the business is run anymore.
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