Lawyers wonder why they get a bad rep..

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by Mutaman

Considering its all done on a contingency basis, I guarantee you will at least get what you pay for.

Very true.

[medford]

I was driving to work on wednesday (snow) and some women ran into the snow bank, lost control and hit me front of the car and pushed us both off the highway. Thankfully no injuries to either of us, she was cited and her insurance already called to take full liability. However, prior to them calling that afternoon, my own insurance had already taken car of the first couple of steps. I was hit around 8:00, by 10:30 I had picked up a rental car, and my car was on the way to the shop to be investigated for damage (don't know yet if its going to be totaled or if they'll fix it)

Anyhoo, this weekend I got two seperate letters from different lawyers telling me of my rights. One even included that accident report. Kind of scary how easily they can obtain that information.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by medford

I was driving to work on wednesday (snow) and some women ran into the snow bank, lost control and hit me front of the car and pushed us both off the highway. Thankfully no injuries to either of us, she was cited and her insurance already called to take full liability. However, prior to them calling that afternoon, my own insurance had already taken car of the first couple of steps. I was hit around 8:00, by 10:30 I had picked up a rental car, and my car was on the way to the shop to be investigated for damage (don't know yet if its going to be totaled or if they'll fix it)

Anyhoo, this weekend I got two seperate letters from different lawyers telling me of my rights. One even included that accident report. Kind of scary how easily they can obtain that information.

Public records can be easy to search if you know what you're doing.

Glad to hear you're okay.

[medford]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

Public records can be easy to search if you know what you're doing.

Glad to hear you're okay.

Thanks, they did total the car, but gave me a more than fair offer for the value of the car.

Got 3 more letters from lawyers the following monday.

[Boston Red]

No one hates lawyers more than other lawyers.

[wolfboy]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

No one hates lawyers more than other lawyers.

Truth.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

No one hates lawyers more than other lawyers.

I really think they need to add practical courses on people skills and negotiation to the law school curriculum. The Negotiations course I took was one of the most useful courses I had in law school. I use those skills every day. But it never ceases to amaze me when I see some attorney walking around the courthouse acting like a self-important jerk. They don't realize that makes it less likely that judges, opposing counsel, and courthouse staff are going to do them any favors. One bad experience was all it took for me to swear off ever agreeing to provide assistance to a civil attorney handling a criminal case.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

I really think they need to add practical courses on people skills and negotiation to the law school curriculum. The Negotiations course I took was one of the most useful courses I had in law school. I use those skills every day. But it never ceases to amaze me when I see some attorney walking around the courthouse acting like a self-important jerk. They don't realize that makes it less likely that judges, opposing counsel, and courthouse staff are going to do them any favors. One bad experience was all it took for me to swear off ever agreeing to provide assistance to a civil attorney handling a criminal case.

Law school attracts too many Type-A personalities -- the same type of people who annoyed me in law school are the same type of people who annoy me now as attorneys.

It's why I have very few friends who are lawyers. They're generally just boring people who don't add much to a conversation unless it's some way of patting themselves on the back.

[cincinnati chili]

Pardon me for being naive (I'm a lawyer), but isn't the behavior by the lawyers - peppering you with phone calls the day after the accident - illegal? I actually don't know the rule in Colorado where I practice, but in Massachusetts where I went to law school, you'll get in trouble with the bar if you make a direct solicitation to an injured victim unless you're offering yourself pro bono.

[medford]

Originally Posted by cincinnati chili

Pardon me for being naive (I'm a lawyer), but isn't the behavior by the lawyers - peppering you with phone calls the day after the accident - illegal? I actually don't know the rule in Colorado where I practice, but in Massachusetts where I went to law school, you'll get in trouble with the bar if you make a direct solicitation to an injured victim unless you're offering yourself pro bono.

I don't know the rules in Ohio, but my guess is that like most legal instances, there are rules that can be bent to fit the need. In my case, I never recieved a phone call, however I did get 4 letters, two of which included my accident report. I didn't pay close enough attention, but IIRC the letters were worded in such a way that talked about general problems and never directly suggested that you called them for legal advice. However, they all had their numbers and email addresses attached to their letter head, so that it was easy enough to find a number can call for direct advice.

[wolfboy]

Originally Posted by cincinnati chili

Pardon me for being naive (I'm a lawyer), but isn't the behavior by the lawyers - peppering you with phone calls the day after the accident - illegal? I actually don't know the rule in Colorado where I practice, but in Massachusetts where I went to law school, you'll get in trouble with the bar if you make a direct solicitation to an injured victim unless you're offering yourself pro bono.

IIRC, letters should be fine as long as they are marked as "Attorney Advertising." I'm sure phone calls are problematic because they are real time communications with a prospective client (when the primary motivation is pecuniary gain).

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by cincinnati chili

Pardon me for being naive (I'm a lawyer), but isn't the behavior by the lawyers - peppering you with phone calls the day after the accident - illegal? I actually don't know the rule in Colorado where I practice, but in Massachusetts where I went to law school, you'll get in trouble with the bar if you make a direct solicitation to an injured victim unless you're offering yourself pro bono.

I don't think it's illegal but it may be an ethics violation. I'm not up on the rules with regard to phone calls, but a wise professor once told me that, when it comes to ethics, as your head, your heart, and your gut. If it feels wrong, it probably is. Phone calls feel wrong to me. Unfortunately, there are some attorneys who will ratiinalize their conduct in their head and skip the part about listening to their heart and their gut.