Who Do I Represent?
I have been asked countless times by friends, acquaintances, and potential clients what type of law do I practice and who do I represent? The answer to these types of questions cannot be answered in a simple sentence or two, so I have decided to write this article to help potential clients and others understand who I represent and to help real people find the right attorney for the client.
For the last approximately 30 years practicing law, I would describe myself as an attorney who represents plaintiffs in lawsuits. A plaintiff is a person or small business who has suffered some type of physical or financial harm or injury as a result of the wrongful conduct of another person. A plaintiff's attorney fights for the rights of the "little guy" against the powerful. In other words, I represent people who have been hurt in some manner, have suffered an injury in some manner, who have been wronged in some manner, or who have been taken advantage of in some manner by other persons.
I went to law school so that I could learn to help real people and small businesses and to level the playing field by taking on powerful defendants with vast resources. I realized while studying political science and philosophy at Northwestern University and The John Marshall Law School that real people and small businesses were at a huge disadvantage when it came to being involved in the legal system.
I do not and never will represent an insurance company, a bank, a lending institution, a hospital, a large corporation, or the government or other type of institution. Instead, I have dedicated my professional career to fighting for the rights of real people, small businesses, family businesses, injured persons, homeowners, mortgagors, borrowers, patients, employees, office workers, consumers, etc., and union workers of all sorts such as electricians, carpenters, pipe fitters, plumbers, construction workers, municipal workers, hotel workers, engineers, etc.
What Rights Do Clients Have If They Retain Me as Their Attorney?
Written Contract
I prepare a written agreement for all clients that will explain the scope of representation and the terms of the representation, including how any attorney fee will be calculated. This way the client understands all aspects of the attorney-client relationship.
Confidentiality
I will keep all matters confidential. What this means is that anything you say to me I cannot repeat to others. This duty of confidentiality continues even after the representation ends.
Informed Decision Making
I will provide all the important facts for you to consider before pursuing a case, defending against any actions, and resolving any matter. My goal is to ensure that a client can make good and sound decisions based upon the facts and the risks involved.
Open and Easy Communication
I make it easy to communicate because open communication makes the attorney-client relationship function smoothly.
Competent Representation
I cannot promise any particular result because it is impossible to predict what will occur in a case, but I can guarantee my clients that they will not be out-lawyered and that I will meet the highest level of competent representation.
How to Find the Right Attorney
I have also been asked countless times: How do I find the attorney for my case? or How do I know if someone is the right attorney to help me? I have looked online for guidance on these questions and I really do not see much information out there to help real people find the right attorney to pursue claims on their behalf. I decided that I would write something to help real people in their search to find the right attorney.
The most important criteria for finding the right attorney is to determine what type of clients does the attorney normally represent. If you are seeking to sue someone as a plaintiff, then it is imperative that you need an attorney who represents plaintiffs, not defendants.
Clients and others have often asked me when deciding how to determine what attorney he or she should hire: is there a difference between an attorney who has represented plaintiffs versus someone who has represented defendants? I always tell them it is extremely important for a client to learn about the past experiences an attorney has because attorneys who represent plaintiffs are far different than attorneys who have represented defendants.
Attorneys Who Represent Plaintiffs Versus Attorneys Who Represent Defendants
Independence
Essentially an attorney who represents plaintiffs and an attorney who represents defendants are two separate types of persons that have very different personalities. An attorney who represents plaintiffs is totally independent, who is a leader who survives based solely upon his skill and competence because they have to win cases to make money. I tell clients that an attorney who represents plaintiffs should be likened to a cowboy living on his own in the Wild West and living off the land because he eats what he kills. An attorney who represents defendants is a less independent follower who is like any other type of employee of a company because they merely follow orders from their superiors, do whatever the insurance company, bank, large corporation, or other institution tells them to do, and they get paid win, lose, or draw.
Creative and Imaginative
An attorney who represents plaintiffs also has to be more creative and imaginative than an attorney who represents defendants because they meet with people who have been aggrieved or suffered some type of financial or physical injury, and the plaintiff's attorney must glean the important facts from the client, then understand what legal remedies or claims may be available, and be able to prepare a complaint that states the pertinent facts and circumstances in a manner that meets the requirements for all legal claims pursued in the complaint. An attorney who represents defendants only has to address what is presented to them in the court papers and defend claims that are asserted. In other words, attorneys who represent defendants merely react instead of creating.
More Trial Experience
In general, plaintiff's attorneys have more vast experience as a first chair trial attorney. A first chair trial attorney is the attorney who is in charge during a jury trial; they communicate with the judge, they examine most witnesses, and they perform opening and closing statements to the jury. A second chair trial attorney organizes all exhibits, carries the suitcases, supports the first chair, and may get to examine a witness, but they are not in charge and do not get to communicate with the judge. In essence, a second chair attorney is the backup quarterback or the surgeon who does not lead a surgery but is there for support. There is a huge difference between being a first chair trial attorney and second chair trial attorney. Most attorneys who represent defendants sit behind the first chair for years if not decades because insurance companies, banks, or other large corporations or institutions demand that only the most senior defense attorneys act as first chair attorneys. I have seen many attorneys who represent defendants who work at big firms for decades that have zero experience as a first chair trial attorney. When choosing an attorney, be careful and be sure to ask an attorney how much experience they have as a first chair trial attorney.
Burden of Proof
An attorney who represents plaintiffs also has the burden of proof at trial, which means an attorney that represents plaintiffs has the burden to convince a jury or a judge that their case has merit. An attorney who represents plaintiffs has to create a compelling narrative so the attorney can convince a jury or a judge that they have met their burden of proof.
Negotiating
An attorney who represents plaintiffs also has to understand how to determine the value of a case and how to negotiate settlements. An attorney who represents plaintiffs negotiates to maximize the value of a case for a real person that involves real monies that can affect the client's life, whereas an attorney who represents defendants tries to minimize an amount paid, and it is not even the client's monies and instead is monies of an insurance company or other large institution.
Freedom of Choice
An attorney who represents plaintiffs also gets to choose the cases they will pursue, whereas an attorney who represents defendants has to represent whomever the insurance companies or other large institutions tell them to represent because if they do not do what they are told, they will lose the business.
Limited Resources
An attorney who represents plaintiffs has limited resources, whereas attorneys who represent defendants generally have unlimited resources.
Other Factors to Consider When Deciding What Attorney Is Right for You
Plaintiff v. Defendant Attorneys
See above.
Experience
A client should ascertain what type of experience the attorney has handling the same or similar type of cases. Experience is vital because many things can only be learned by experience. An attorney needs battle scars so they know how to avoid the pitfalls of litigating a case and they know what certain judges like or do not like.
Types of Cases
It is important that the attorney you choose has at least some experience dealing with the type of case you have, and this is especially true when you have a legal malpractice case. Legal malpractice cases are very tricky and there are so many landmines that need to be avoided.
Website
A client should always review the attorney's website to learn as much about the attorney as possible. Look to see if the attorney has been rated by Martindale-Hubbell or some other independent attorney rating system. Importantly, when reviewing the website, it is important to consider what it does not say, such as if the website does not clearly state the attorney only represents plaintiffs. If the website does not stress that the attorney is a plaintiff's attorney, then that means they represent mainly defendants and insurance companies. In fact, most of the websites a client will find when searching for legal malpractice attorneys are websites for attorneys who represent insurance companies or defendants because they pay for the search engine rankings. If the website does not stress that the attorney only represents plaintiffs, then they represent many defendants and insurance companies, and you do not want to hire that firm because the attorneys will always be seeking new business with insurance companies and will not want to be super aggressive when fighting insurance companies.
Ability to Work Together
It is important that you feel comfortable with your attorney and that the attorney communicates well with you. If the attorney is rude or refuses to explain legal issues in a way you can understand, then you should not retain that attorney.
