tomsawyer on mon 26 feb 01
Antimater,
I earlier posted an appology for my reply post to your previous message. I
replied hastly when I read your earlier post that denegrated attorneys. With
four attorneys in our family present company included, it aggravates me when
attorneys are indiscriminately attacked. Our firm, from which I am presently
retired, does no litigation; my wife and daughter routinely get hugs,
kisses, cookies, cakes and flowers from grateful clients. Our work is
confined to elderlaw. Our work is concentrated in areas involving incapacity
and Medicaid applications in addition to wills, trusts and estate planning.
My legal committments are confined to pro bono work that I do for Seniors
First and for the Court when they are unable to find other attorneys.
You are presumptive when you state "I guess you would be among the "SUE THIS
ASS" crowd....." Unless damages are great, you are correct in assuming that
cost may exceed judgment and once getting a judgment collections may be a
problem. Cost in any form of litigation should relate to complexity.
Complexity arises when experts are deposed and then called for witnesses;
many may be out of town. In many types of litigation, proof of damages may
be very difficult to prove. This can be extremely difficult if there is lack
of proof that one's income or financial status hasn't been degradated.
Where an attorney takes on a case as a "contigency", a real chunk of any
award goes to the attorney in the event there is a favorable judgment. What
is often forgotten in "contingency" cases is the time and expense incurred
by the attorney and the risk of non-recovery. In medical malpractice cases
expenses often run to $80,000-100,000 to get to trial. Here in Florida only
1 of 3 cases going to trial are won by the plaintiff. Go figure if the award
is not significant, the attorney taking such cases is working free.
It is easy for non-potters to speculate that the cost of making a pot is
cheap, not realizing all that goes into the process; it is easy for non
professionals to speculate that they are being ripped off by attorneys
because of a failure to realize all that goes into a litigation.
By the way, I would never be critical of a spelling error and I do not
consider myself a sage except when I have a few beers, when to my surprise
and amazemen I often become an expert on many subjects.
Best and appologies
Tom Sawyer
tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
| |
|
