Now here’s a post I wish I’d written: John Steele of the excellent new Legal Ethics Forum blog contrasts the attitude toward lawyers’ advertising of the highly dignified Henry S. Drinker of Philadelphia, author of the 1950s standard textbook Legal Ethics, with that of Jim “The Hammer” Shapiro, who starred in many manic TV ads to promote his ethically troubled and now-defunct Rochester personal injury practice (see Jun. 17-18, 2002, Dec. 5, 2003, and May 24, 2004). One big difference: Drinker would probably never have promised TV viewers to “rip out the hearts of [the defendants]” and “hand you their severed heads.” (Feb. 22, linking to this page on Rochester TV ads).
Posts Tagged ‘chasing clients’
U.K. roundup
Meals-on-wheels officials in Gloucestershire were preparing to distribute to elderly clients paper napkins printed with tips on how to avoid being a crime victim, but paused the initiative after being warned that no safety assessment had been made of the possible choking hazard should pensioners insert the napkins into their mouths; the distribution eventually went forward, but critics said the episode encouraged the portrayal of aged persons as senile (Martin Wainwright, “No napkins … elderly might eat them”, The Guardian, Apr. 13). The Royal Chesterfield hospital is locked in a longstanding battle with claims-chasers who prowl its accident and emergency facilities promoting no-win, no-fee legal practices. Said a spokesman: “They have been approaching patients, asking them how they came about their injuries, was it their fault and if they want to sue. We have had several complaints from patients. These people are also handing out official-looking leaflets with an NHS-type logo which makes it look as if the hospital is endorsing their actions.” (Nick Britten, “Hospital lawyers target ‘ambulance chasers'”, Daily Telegraph, Apr. 14). Until recently a number of Scottish prisons provided inmates with chamberpots rather than in-cell toilets for overnight use; the practice has now been ruled a human rights violation and taxpayers are on the hook for compensation claims that some see rising as high as £100 million. (Hamish MacDonell and John Robertson, “Slopping-out prisoners ‘to sue for £100m'”, The Scotsman, Feb. 11; Kirsty Scott, “Slopping out judged a breach of human rights”, The Guardian, Apr. 27, 2004). And the newsletter of the Association of Lloyd’s Members, serving participants in the venerable London insurance market, will be reprinting with credit occasional items from this website (after having asked our permission, which we were happy to grant).
Batch of reader letters
We’ve just added four more entries to our stack of reader correspondence, which constitutes its own page with a blog-like format. Among topics this time are high-speed cop chases; a reader asks equal time to bash defense lawyers; step right up and grab your class action prizes, advises a garish GoogleAd; and a family’s pipe and valve distribution business gets caught in the asbestos-litigation snare.
Wal-Mart Litigation Project
Where you might see a store that offers lower prices than its competition, this site sees a goldmine:
Imagine that you are a Wal-Mart customer. You first park your car and walk through the parking lot, onto the sidewalk, and through the front doors. Looking at the listing of cases you can see there have been lawsuits involving each of these activities; for example, customers have been injured by automatic doors. Now continue shopping. As you proceed down the aisle way all manner of injuries can occur, notably slipping and falling on wet substances (including products) on the floor. Next, consider the fact that thousands of customers are injured each year by falling merchandise. As you, the imaginary shopper, continue you may encounter falling shelves, chairs or benches that collapse, falling signs, and injuries caused by Wal-Mart employees pushing carts or pallets. Continue to pretend you are a shopper and you can visualize situations where Wal-Mart security personnel falsely accuse you of theft. Finally, you may have an unhappy experience with the items you purchased, including mis-filled prescriptions from a Wal-Mart pharmacy, or defective goods such as toys or electrical appliances.
The attorney, Lewis Laska, will sell you for $135 a packet of materials dealing with lawsuits against Wal-Mart for “Parking Lots- Uneven Surface and Protrusions.” And do you think it’s just reformers who refer to the “litigation lottery”? Laska is the proud author of “How Trial Lawyers Win Jackpot Verdicts in Medical Malpractice Cases,” which unfortunately does not exist beyond the title page is not currently on the web, though Google has a cache that merits its own post.
Addendum: Alas, when researching this post, I looked up Laska in our archives, rather than the web-page title, and missed Walter’s post of Jul. 7, 2000, which noted the “Pallets or Dollies Left in Aisle Ways (12 items, $100)” “Shopping Carts – Overloaded (4 items, $45)”, and “Restrooms – Water on Floor (3 items, $40)” items on the price list. Kevin Brancato writes us to say his blog about (but not affiliated with) Wal-Mart covered this Mar. 23.
Disbarred in Florida
Florida, like many states, prohibits attorneys from actually chasing ambulances, but some lawyers try to circumvent this. David A. Barrett had one of his paralegals take training to be admitted as a hospital chaplain, whereupon he would solicit clients for Barrett while wearing a pastor’s uniform. The Florida Supreme Court did not look kindly upon this when he was caught. David Giacalone has enough links to all the details to shake a stick at.
At the accident scene
Let’s be dignified and not actually troll for business at the scene of the crash, OK, guys? That’s the State Bar of California’s view (Nancy McCarthy, “Public protection takes center stage in disaster”, California Bar Journal, Mar.) (via Legal Ethics Forum)(more: Jan. 28, Feb. 1).
Happens to judges too
From Phil Kabler’s “Statehouse Beat” column in the Charleston, W.V. Gazette, Feb. 14 (reg):
It sounds like one of those urban legends, but this one is true.
No sooner had [State] Supreme Court Justice Elliott “Spike” Maynard gotten out of his SUV after a fender-bender downtown last week when a woman approached him, asked if he was hurt, and gave him the name and phone number of the Charleston law firm where she works.
Lawyer spends $1M advertising for one massive case
If yours isn’t worth a cool billion, Mr. Snyder of Baltimore doesn’t want to hear from you. We’ve come a long way from the taxi-hire model of lawyer service to the public, that’s for sure. (Jonathan D. Glater, “Advertising: Lawyer Spends a Million Dollars in Quest for a Verdict”, New York Times, Feb. 15). More: Feb. 20.
Jacoby & Meyers
Conducting, um, outreach, to potential clients among survivors of the Glendale commuter train catastrophe (“In Bad Taste”, LAist, Feb. 1)(via Decs & Excs).
LA commuter rail crash II
More on the LA commuter rail crash (Jan. 27): the Los Angeles Times covers the legal aspects of the case, and suggests prospects of recovery are “slim,” because the accident is Alvarez’s doing. Ten paragraphs into the article, however, the Times acknowledges the principle of joint and several liability, whereby the railroad could be on the hook for the entirety of the economic damages if they’re found 1% responsible for the accident. (Tort reform in California has abolished joint-and-several liability for non-economic damages. Cal. Civ. Code Sec. 1431.2.) Overlawyered has covered numerous cases where the deep pocket was held responsible for the crime of another: for example, ankle monitor manufacturer 20% responsible for murder; apartment complex responsible for carjacking and shooting; beer vendor 50% responsible (plus punitives) for drunk driving accident; automaker jointly liable for drunk driving accident.
Also entertaining is the discussion of the five investigators the California Bar felt they had to send to the scene of the crime and local hospitals to shoo away potentially illegal solicitation by attorneys. (Henry Weinstein, “Victims’ Chances of Winning Big Money Are Slim”, Jan. 28).