Personal Injury Law
How To Add Value To That Which Is Priceless
How to value that which is priceless is the title of Chapter Four in Nicholas Rowley & Courtney Rowley’s new book, Running With The Bulls, How To Win Top – Dollar Settlements. As the book begins, the point is made that many lawyers undervalue personal injury cases for two main reasons. First, many lawyers are…
Read MoreAdvice to a Younger Me
My journey as a self employed trial lawyer began in August of 1994, the day I got fired from my first job as a lawyer. Getting fired is not as bad as you might think. It happened around midday, when I was asked to go see Francine Curtis, the firm’s managing attorney for the plaintiff’s…
Read MoreMy Very Own Spiderman Case
One of the questions that I am asked on a regular basis is, “What is the most interesting case that you have worked on?” I have always struggled with this question, especially in recent years, as our firm has begun to work on more tragic cases. They are not appropriate for social settings, simply because…
Read MoreThe Importance of the Napkin Deal
One of the most important laws that govern personal injury practice was written on a napkin at Frank Fat’s in 1987. This significant historical event related to plaintiff’s personal injury law occurred on the evening of September 10, 1987. Present that night were lobbyists for the tobacco industry, doctors, manufacturers, insurance industry representatives and plaintiff…
Read MoreUnderstanding Health Insurance Liens and Their Importance to Anyone New to Personal Injury Law
Anyone new to the personal injury law practice must understand health insurance liens. In a personal injury case, a lien claims arises when an insurance company or government agency pays the medical bills of an injured plaintiff, who later makes a recovery against the negligence person’s insurance company. A good way to learn about…
Read MoreA Big Win with “High Low Binding Arbitration”
It was 1995, I was 27 years old, suddenly I had a check for $64,000 in my pocket. This is the story about my first big win as a new personal injury lawyer. It’s a story of how curiosity and hustle come together to form a big win for our client and my first big…
Read MoreExpert Witnesses: What Have We Learned From The Case of the Audacious Supermarket Site Inspection?
Pullin was a personal injury claim that arose from a slip-and-fall at a Von’s Supermarket in Los Angeles. The plaintiff attorney found himself in the uncomfortable position of having an unprepared expert, who was about to have his deposition taken.
Read MoreThe One “Must Know” Question To Conclude Every Expert Deposition
The case of Jones v. Moore, (2000) 80 Cal App. 4th 557, explains why this question is so important. Jones was a legal malpractice case that arose out of a marital dissolution case.
Read MoreLetting Go and Grabbing The Trapeze. The Story of A Former Prosecutor Finding Her Way As a Civil Trial Lawyer
When Anne says, “It taught me everything I know,” she is talking about how to try a case in front of a jury. “You learn the evidence rules. You learn to organize the evidence. You learn to think on your feet and there is no better grounds for training than the prosecutor’s office or the public defender’s office. We had to learn all of the predicate questions for experts. How to lay a foundation for the admissibility of evidence.”
Read MoreCivil Trial Lawyer, Craig Peters, Makes Transition From Criminal Defense Look Easy
The hardest part of the transition for Craig was learning all of the rules of civil procedure. “In criminal, whatever you’ve got, you’ve got to turn over to the other side, and whatever they’ve got, they’ve got to turn over to you. That’s it. There is one rule.” Looking back, Craig feels that criminal lawyers making the switch benefit from sitting down and just reading the entire code of civil procedure.
Read MoreThe top 3 legal concepts criminal lawyers new to civil practice must understand
Jerry Spence started practicing law as a prosecutor, and later became a criminal defense lawyer. The main reason is that criminal lawyers are already great litigators. You already know how to question an adverse witness and try a case in front of a jury. However, the transition between the two areas of law can seem daunting.
Read More10 Reasons Criminal Defense Lawyers Make Great Plaintiff Personal Injury Lawyers:
The next generation of great plaintiff personal injury lawyers are working in the criminal courts right now. Former criminal lawyers make excellent civil trial attorneys because they have extensive jury trial experience. Having a comfort level in front of juries allows criminal lawyers to quickly take advantage of the settlement leverage, created when a trial date is assigned to a personal injury case.
Here are the top ten reasons why lawyers working in the criminal courts, including criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, JAG Corp officers, prosecutors and district attorneys, will become this country’s next generation of plaintiff personal injury lawyers.
Read MoreNew Personal Injury Lawyers: You Can Always Phone a Friend
In the lead up to the launch of Signup to Settlement: A Personal Injury Law Boot Camp, we asked our followers what their number one F.E.A.R. (False Expectation Appearing Real) was about beginning to practice personal injury law. One response was, “I am afraid I will make a mistake and lose the case.” Another lawyer responded, “I don’t want my client to lose, based upon my lack of knowledge and skill.” Let’s unpack these two answers and see what we can learn.
Read MoreThree Keys To A Successful Personal Injury Trial
Preparing for your first personal injury trial can feel like a daunting task. Feelings of overwhelm and fear are normal. Welcome these feelings and get comfortable hanging out with them. Nelson Mandela said, “courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Preparation can reduce our anxiety level. Let’s look at three…
Read MoreSignUp To Settlement Screencasts are Complete!
This week I taped the final screencast for the final session of Signup to Settlement, A Personal Injury Law Boot Camp. The twelve sessions of the course flowed from 20 years of personal injury trial practice and was the culmination of twelve months of thinking, planning, outlining and discovery. Like everything in life, it all…
Read MoreDo you really know your legal process server?
I had no idea how cool it would be to have my legal process server in my BNI group. For twenty years I practiced law without meeting my process server face to face.
Read MoreRick Friedman: The fallacy of comparison
Last Friday afternoon I saw trial lawyer Rick Friedman speak at the Consumer Attorneys of California State Convention in San Francisco. Rick spoke about how destructive if can be for a trial lawyer to compare themselves to another trial lawyer.
Read MorePersonal Injury Cases: Costs to Evaluate Before Trial
Determining the case costs for a personal injury case is far from a clear cut calculation. There are variables that can occur throughout the life of the case, such as the expense of expert discovery and trial that can add up quickly.
Read MorePersonal Injury Cases: Three Deadlines to Make Sure You Meet
As you learn to navigate the personal injury trial system, you will likely find yourself focused on the big picture. When that happens there are some smaller, yet vital, details that can slip through the cracks.
Read MorePersonal Injury Cases: Three Key Evidentiary Scenarios
As you gear up for trial, you will need to organize the documents that your client needs to support her claims. This list should give you a beginning guideline when you’re compiling documents.
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