On Lawyering

Regardless of the various controversies, I like Facebook. It's a great way to keep up with friends and family from all over the world, and make new ones though common interests. I've connected with quite a few great people affiliated with Palladium. Lloyd Ritchey is one of them, and while I've never had the opportunity to hang out with him or his wife, I enjoy being their friend on Facebook. Something Lloyd said earlier today got me thinking about "lawyers and lockjaw" and I figured this might be a good time to expound on that subject, and with it my thoughts on the law profession.

Lawyers are universally reviled, or at least not thought well of in most circles. Lawyer jokes abound, and many of which are quite hilarious. They also cut to the quick because they are not far off the mark when it comes to some of those in the profession.

However, that's not to say that all lawyers are sharks, ambulance chasers, or downright thieves. What we have are a bunch of high profile bad apples spoiling it for the rest. No one likes lawyers. Until they need one. And even then some clients still don't trust us, and will go out of their way to make it hard to represent them. I believe that the opposite should be true. I'm probably going to have the vast majority of humanity disagree with me, but it won't be the first time!

I'm going to come right out and say that I believe that being a lawyer should be a much more respected profession. Being a lawyer means to serve others. We represent people who otherwise cannot speak for themselves. This ranges from the average citizen to the multi-billion dollar corporation, but the concept is still the same. It is a life of service that we have taken upon ourselves. I believe that who you choose to represent says a lot about your outlook on life and your approach to the law. I am probably going to sound pretentious and self-aggrandizing, but that is not my purpose. I feel something of a calling, so please don't misunderstand my opinion as hubris.

I have been fortunate thus far in my brief career in the law to have worked for two of the best plaintiff's law firms in North Carolina. I've also been affiliated with many other good firms and lawyers in the area acting as co-counsel on cases, so my experience has given me the opportunity to learn from the very best. The first was John Edwards' firm, which exclusively practices medical malpractice and personal injury. Regardless of the things John has said and done in his political career and personal life, his firm has done great things for people who had no one else to turn to. The second is the firm that I'm at now, which practices primarily workers' compensation, select personal injury, and legal negligence. Yes, we are one of the rare firms that will sue other lawyers for legal malpractice. We help the average person who has run afoul of those who give lawyers a bad name. We help keep the profession honest. In my experience, we see people on what are, arguably, the worst days in their lives. We are, many times, the only person on their side.

Of course, we are compensated for our services. But who isn't? Who goes to work everyday and does not expect to be paid? However, the concept of what is fair in terms of legal fees is debatable, and I won't get into tort reform. At least not at the moment. That's a topic all on its own. I will say that some lawyers are definitely over paid, and some awarded fees are over the top. But, litigating a case is a LOT of hard work. It's not a 9-5, M-F job. It requires hours of work, personal, social, and sometimes bodily sacrifice. It requires years of specialized schooling, and hard won experience to do the best job possible for the client. Practicing law is not flipping burgers, and those who work the hardest are compensated the most. That's no different than any other profession.

But that's not why I'm in the field I'm in. The prospect of making a good living is, obviously one of the reasons, but it's not at the top. In many ways, I'm good at what I do, so it only makes sense to pursue that as far and as fast as I can. I like the work, it makes me happy, but it's also right up my alley. I am on the road to establish myself doing what I love, making a decent living at it, and have no regrets about it. However, I also have personal reasons for practicing law. Particularly the field I'm in.

My family has always been workers. From the coal mines, to the railroad, to the timber industry, to the military, my family has always been laborers; the backs and shoulders of getting the work done. With that comes risk, and sometimes injury. My great-grandfather lost his leg in the coal mines. My grandfather died of the occupational diseases asbestosis and silicosis from years of working, unprotected, for the railroad. My father wore his body out providing for his family and was forced to retire on workers' comp and draw disability. They sought help from lawyers to make sure they got everything they were entitled to, and they did. In fact, my father was represented by the firm I work for now. So, when I say that I know exactly what my clients are going through, and I want to help them get what they are entitled to, I'm not bullshitting or practicing hyperbole.

I want to help those people out there like my family, who go to work everyday expecting to come home safe at the end of the day with an honesty earned paycheck. They didn't plan on getting hurt, they didn't plan on their employer trying to screw them out of medical treatment, and they didn't plan on having to fight for what's right, but they did. They came to find someone like me. Someone who will do right by them, get what is theirs by right and by law, and nothing more. And god help someone who is "faking it." My firm is actively involved in preventing workers' comp fraud from both the employer and the employee side. And you know what? It's usually the employer that's more guilty. There are bad apples on the employee side who try to take advantage of the system, and gives everyone a bad name. But the ratio of employee to employer fraud dollars is thousands to one. There are employers out there who would rather save a few thousand dollars a year and not have workers' comp insurance, which can end up costing them their business if an employee is hurt, not to mention criminal charges. Someone has to keep the system honest, and that's also what we do.

It would be great if we had less bad apples making splashes, and people would see that many of us who are in the legal field, especially the plaintiff's side, want to help people. If I could do it for nothing, I would. Maybe one day I'll be in a position to do just that. If I could open a majority pro-bono practice and still have my bills paid, a roof over my head and food in my belly, that would be the pinnacle of my career. I can't speak for anyone else, much less really defend the profession anymore than that, but that's where I'm coming from in my calling to practice the law.