Bloomberg predicts riots over jobs day before planned Wall Street protest.

[soonersfan]

BB, then why hire one in the first place? Your assertion is just wrong. The fact is that it is more often the clients who believe they have a "motherlode case" and have completely unrealistic expectations. Add that to the fact that most folks have drunk the insurance company koolaid about how everyone is a malingerer and giving awards raise everyone's rates, and it's just plain an uphill battle.

And as for the "we're here to help you nonsense", what other profession do you basically get someone to work for free with only the potentiality of being paid? Of course, we are here to turn a profit. What's wrong with that? It's our JOB. It's how we make a living. Do you begrudge the doctor his fee or paying an auto mechanic to repair your car?

I think you are both right and both wrong. It is such a gray area and will never be perfect. I've had customers injure themselves through no fault of mine, and feel they've hit the motherlode. I turn them over to the insurance company because they are so unreasonable and they inevitably get paid. It is always for much less than they expected and for more than they deserve.

The media and internet do a great job of highlighting the outlandish cases while limiting the facts. It seems foolish to just have blanket limits but I think there needs to be some sort of tort reform. The excessive costs do get passed on to the consumer. Medical malpractice insurance is so outlandish that most OBGyns will stop delivering babies 15 years before retirement because they have to keep their insurance in tact for 15 years after their last delivery. General Practitioners are looking at $90k to 120k/yr after 10 yrs of training and a minimum $250k in med school debt. It just isn't worth it. Improvements can be made without eliminating consumer/patient rights but as with all things government related, it will be next to impossible to find common ground.

The same goes for all the candidates we have to chose from. There never has and never will be a perfect one. You can find multiple things to pick apart about each one. At some point, you have to get behind whoever you think is the best candidate (or lessor of the evils) and support them.

 

[BadgeBunny]

BB, then why hire one in the first place? Your assertion is just wrong. The fact is that it is more often the clients who believe they have a "motherlode case" and have completely unrealistic expectations. Add that to the fact that most folks have drunk the insurance company koolaid about how everyone is a malingerer and giving awards raise everyone's rates, and it's just plain an uphill battle.

And as for the "we're here to help you nonsense", what other profession do you basically get someone to work for free with only the potentiality of being paid? Of course, we are here to turn a profit. What's wrong with that? It's our JOB. It's how we make a living. Do you begrudge the doctor his fee or paying an auto mechanic to repair your car?

Ouch ... JB, did I hit a nerve?

I'm not talking about whether the client thinks they have a motherlode case ... I'm talking about attorneys who take cases on and let them lanquish because there's no money in them while working their staff to death on cases that have obvious major potential.

As far as attorneys taking those cases on contingency ... If you didn't you guys wouldn't have any work because how many working stiffs have $10K to plunk down for a case that might work out a couple of years from now after the insurance companies do their damnest to wait them out and their attorney is bleeding them dry with hourly fees for "Check status of case" and expenses. More attorneys than I can count have told me time and time again ... Everybody in America is entitled to be best legal defense money can buy them" .. and even that won't necessarily keep them out of jail ... or get for them what they are entitled to from the insurance companies. Why you even joke of it from time to time here.

And yeah ... when a doctor doesn't do their job I do begrudge their fee ... just like I begrudge paying the lawn guy when he charges me for trimming the bushes and only does a half-assed job, or the mechanic who swears he did the work even though he didn't fix the problem ... what of it?? They still get paid, but I damn sure don't give them any repeat business. If you guys want to get paid up front then stop taking them on contingency.

There's nothing wrong with turning a profit but don't try to tell me that attorneys give the same level of representation to the little claims as you do the big ones when the bottom line is how much they are gonna be able to net in the end. After all, that would cut into profits.


ETA: I think soonersfan hit the nail on the head.

 

[BadgeBunny]

You're talking about the GOP presidential candidates, right?

Actually, our Democratic President ... but, yah ... they're all peas from the same pod. lol

 

[Old Fart]

And as for the "we're here to help you nonsense", what other profession do you basically get someone to work for free with only the potentiality of being paid?

Made me think of Oklahoma Emergency room doctors.

 

[BadgeBunny]

LOL at OF ... goot one!!

 

[MaddSkillz]

We would be just as screwed. Not only is Paul just another politician, unless he got a lot of Libertarians in congress, he would be pretty much a lame duck from the start.

Your insight into the future amazes me.

 

[dutchwrangler]

Protesters want government to fix the problems on Wall Street that government created by destroying capitalism. Makes sense to me...


http://youtu.be/bFVR9Nv43J4

 

[JB Books]

Ouch ... JB, did I hit a nerve?

No. I am so egomaniacal and self-absorbed, I am immune from having my nerves hit. And besides, you're still my favorite Badge Bunny.

I'm not talking about whether the client thinks they have a motherlode case ... I'm talking about attorneys who take cases on and let them lanquish because there's no money in them while working their staff to death on cases that have obvious major potential.

There's some truth to that, but not a great deal. Smaller cases cash flow better and in some ways they require less investment of money and time, just by their nature. (Think an uncontested divorce versus a bitterly contested one with lots of assets. Or a 1st time DUI vs. a Capital Murder case. It's the same in the injury world.) Smaller cases turn faster. They are also important because BIGGER cases more often than not come from having represented a family member or friend, not so much from advertising. And since I spend seven figures a year on ads, I think I have a little expertise in that area.

As far as attorneys taking those cases on contingency ... If you didn't you guys wouldn't have any work because how many working stiffs have $10K to plunk down for a case that might work out a couple of years from now after the insurance companies do their damnest to wait them out and their attorney is bleeding them dry with hourly fees for "Check status of case" and expenses. More attorneys than I can count have told me time and time again ... Everybody in America is entitled to be best legal defense money can buy them" .. and even that won't necessarily keep them out of jail ... or get for them what they are entitled to from the insurance companies. Why you even joke of it from time to time here.

By doing everything to possible to limit attorneys' fees and make recoveries difficult for clients through BS legislation, the Corporate Lap Dogs are doing their damnedst to destroy access to the courts of the working stiffs. All the while the working stiffs are whistling a merry tune to the slaughterhouse. That's what gets me so annoyed at so many on this board, they proclaim their steadfast love of the Constitution and their belief in their GOD GIVEN freedoms, yet they are responsible for electing the very people who are DESTROYING their freedoms. There's a word for that...STUPID.

And before some of them get indignant and accuse me of being self-interested, yes I am. However, if I were a lung cancer specialist and I told you smoking causes cancer would I be wrong simply because I make a living treating people with bad lungs?

And yeah ... when a doctor doesn't do their job I do begrudge their fee ... just like I begrudge paying the lawn guy when he charges me for trimming the bushes and only does a half-assed job, or the mechanic who swears he did the work even though he didn't fix the problem ... what of it?? They still get paid, but I damn sure don't give them any repeat business. If you guys want to get paid up front then stop taking them on contingency.

There's nothing wrong with turning a profit but don't try to tell me that attorneys give the same level of representation to the little claims as you do the big ones when the bottom line is how much they are gonna be able to net in the end. After all, that would cut into profits.


ETA: I think soonersfan hit the nail on the head.

Asked and answered.

 

[BadgeBunny]

No. I am so egomaniacal and self-absorbed, I am immune from having my nerves hit. And besides, you're still my favorite Badge Bunny.

LOL ... I figured but you're "tone" had me worried I'd hurt your feelers!

There's some truth to that, but not a great deal. Smaller cases cash flow better and in some ways they require less investment of money and time, just by their nature. (Think an uncontested divorce versus a bitterly contested one with lots of assets. Or a 1st time DUI vs. a Capital Murder case. It's the same in the injury world.) Smaller cases turn faster. They are also important because BIGGER cases more often than not come from having represented a family member or friend, not so much from advertising. And since I spend seven figures a year on ads, I think I have a little expertise in that area.

By doing everything to possible to limit attorneys' fees and make recoveries difficult for clients through BS legislation, the Corporate Lap Dogs are doing their damnedst to destroy access to the courts of the working stiffs. All the while the working stiffs are whistling a merry tune to the slaughterhouse. That's what gets me so annoyed at so many on this board, they proclaim their steadfast love of the Constitution and their belief in their GOD GIVEN freedoms, yet they are responsible for electing the very people who are DESTROYING their freedoms. There's a word for that...STUPID.

And before some of them get indignant and accuse me of being self-interested, yes I am. However, if I were a lung cancer specialist and I told you smoking causes cancer would I be wrong simply because I make a living treating people with bad lungs?

Asked and answered.

Ehhhh ... I'm not real sure I buy the whole premise of this part of your post based on my experience (both as a paralegal and as a person who has been represented by attorneys in various issues) but I'm bored now so I'll move on and just say "Fair enough then".

 

[Hobbes]

Not to worry about the protests on wall street.
JP Morgan Chase just donated 4.6 Million dollars to the NY police department.

http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/article/ny-13.htm?TB_iframe=true&height=580&width=850

I'm sure it's all an incredible coincidence they donated 4.6 Million dollars to the NYPD on the eve of the protests.