So, my wife is a lawyer, and I'm sure she's got lots of her own stories about bad lawyers. But I only have one such story, even though I have literally met hundreds of lawyers over the decades that my wife and I have been married.
I was called in for jury duty. A large pool was assembled, for what was to be a personal injury case. Several classes of people from the pool were dismissed before any of the potential jurors were to be interviewed -- any uniformed police officer or military person was excused and thanked for their service. The former dean of the UT Law School happened to be in the pool, and the judge recognized his name and excused him as well (I thanked him for his service). That left the rest of us, about half the initial pool remaining.
They then proceeded to start explaining parts of the case. The lawyer for the plaintiffs versus the lawyer representing the defendant as well as the lawyers of the insurance company for the defendant. The lawyers for the defendant and the insurance company led off, to be followed by the lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Everything started off with a relatively factual explanation of what happened, and what the basic claims were. Then the plaintiff lawyer stepped up. About every other sentence, he would say something that was factually incorrect or was a matter to be decided by the case we were there to hear, and the lawyers for the other side would say "you can't say that", and the judge would agree. Or the judge would step in first and say "you can't say that". This repeated time after time.
I noticed that the plaintiffs were wearing brand new jeans and t-shirts, not even washed once. It seemed obvious those had been bought that morning.
After a lengthy explanation from all the lawyers involved, the judge addressed the members of the jury pool and said "if there is any other reason why you are unable to serve on this jury, please speak up now." I held up my hand, and the judge called me forward.
I approached the bench, and I was a little surprised that so did the lawyers. Especially the lawyer for the plaintiffs. The judge asked me why I couldn't serve, and I said "I have developed an intense personal dislike for one of the counsel." The judge seemed quite exasperated, and asked if I felt that this would impact my ability to be impartial to the case. I confirmed that it would.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs then said "may I ask which attorney it is that you have developed an intense personal dislike for?" To which I kept my eyes aimed straight at the judge and responded "with all due respect sir, I don't think you want me to answer that question". The judge then excused me.
As I left, I wanted desperately to warn these people that this douche bag was the worst kind of ambulance chaser, and that they really needed to fire him and get a better lawyer. But I didn't.
So, if you're going to be a lawyer and practicing in a court room, I would ask that you work very hard not to be that douche bag.
interesting story! I'm a transactional attorney, not very familiar with plaintiff attorneys in court but there are clients who really like aggressive plaintiff attorneys! And there is plenty of predatory players in the field as well.
Comments
So, my wife is a lawyer, and I'm sure she's got lots of her own stories about bad lawyers. But I only have one such story, even though I have literally met hundreds of lawyers over the decades that my wife and I have been married.
I was called in for jury duty. A large pool was assembled, for what was to be a personal injury case. Several classes of people from the pool were dismissed before any of the potential jurors were to be interviewed -- any uniformed police officer or military person was excused and thanked for their service. The former dean of the UT Law School happened to be in the pool, and the judge recognized his name and excused him as well (I thanked him for his service). That left the rest of us, about half the initial pool remaining.
They then proceeded to start explaining parts of the case. The lawyer for the plaintiffs versus the lawyer representing the defendant as well as the lawyers of the insurance company for the defendant. The lawyers for the defendant and the insurance company led off, to be followed by the lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Everything started off with a relatively factual explanation of what happened, and what the basic claims were. Then the plaintiff lawyer stepped up. About every other sentence, he would say something that was factually incorrect or was a matter to be decided by the case we were there to hear, and the lawyers for the other side would say "you can't say that", and the judge would agree. Or the judge would step in first and say "you can't say that". This repeated time after time.
I noticed that the plaintiffs were wearing brand new jeans and t-shirts, not even washed once. It seemed obvious those had been bought that morning.
After a lengthy explanation from all the lawyers involved, the judge addressed the members of the jury pool and said "if there is any other reason why you are unable to serve on this jury, please speak up now." I held up my hand, and the judge called me forward.
I approached the bench, and I was a little surprised that so did the lawyers. Especially the lawyer for the plaintiffs. The judge asked me why I couldn't serve, and I said "I have developed an intense personal dislike for one of the counsel." The judge seemed quite exasperated, and asked if I felt that this would impact my ability to be impartial to the case. I confirmed that it would.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs then said "may I ask which attorney it is that you have developed an intense personal dislike for?" To which I kept my eyes aimed straight at the judge and responded "with all due respect sir, I don't think you want me to answer that question". The judge then excused me.
As I left, I wanted desperately to warn these people that this douche bag was the worst kind of ambulance chaser, and that they really needed to fire him and get a better lawyer. But I didn't.
So, if you're going to be a lawyer and practicing in a court room, I would ask that you work very hard not to be that douche bag.
interesting story! I'm a transactional attorney, not very familiar with plaintiff attorneys in court but there are clients who really like aggressive plaintiff attorneys! And there is plenty of predatory players in the field as well.