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Lawcus v. Clio? Which do you prefer?
Notice period during 6 months of probation?
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Class of 2018 - how are we all doin’?
Lawcus v. Clio? Which do you prefer?
Notice period during 6 months of probation?
Enthusiast
Conversation Starter
Class of 2018 - how are we all doin’?
Chief
Defense lawyers wonder the same things about plaintiffs attorneys who bring baseless claims and try to use discovery costs as leverage for a settlement, all while misrepresenting facts to create factual issues precluding12b6 dismissal or summary judgment. Or my personal favorite, making absurd statements of law and misrepresenting case law, which is technically ethical because attorneys can advocate for what they think the law “should” be.
There are good and bad lawyers on both sides. Be fair and fight when you need to. The bad ones’ reputations catch up with them and everything they do is harder and more contentious because of it... judges believe them less, they have more needless discovery battles, and generally more stress (although I’m convinced some feed off the toxicity).
Chief
As a defense lawyer heading toward back-to-back trials against *awful* opposing counsel, I wish I could agree with your last paragraph. Plenty of chest-thumping plaintiffs’ lawyers get away with this crap their whole careers and make piles of money doing it. We remove to federal court whenever we can, but these guys are masters at keeping cases before busy and/or highly sympathetic local judges who let them get away with murder.
Chief
Unfortunately this kind of stuff is pretty widespread. Small firms, big firms, solos, doesn’t seem to matter. Happens a lot less in federal court, because federal judges more often are willing take the time hammer people who do it. But state court judges are generally a lot less willing to allocate time to the issue.
I do both Plaintiffs and Corporate Defense work. I think you need to do both to understand. We're just fighting for our clients. Doing our best.
Chief
For all we know with the info given here, by saying bracketed language with the “opposite” meaning, we could just be talking about a quote that originally said “plaintiff” and was changed to “defendant” but the principle is the same.
As a plaintiff-side products attorney, I see this type of conduct by corporate defendants all the time. They make discovery tedious, trying to thwart any effort to actually engage in good faith. They misquote case law, court orders, and deposition testimony, and file frivolous motions to make their billables. And because federal courts tend to take longer to rule on motions, they reap the benefits of the delay. When I get a cordial OC I usually thank them for not acting unreasonably. We have no incentive to litigate and spend on frivolous lawsuits. We don’t get paid unless we win or settle, and in either case, if costs eat up the settlement, litigation wouldn’t be worth it. On the other hand, regardless of how frivolous the defense is, defendants still get paid. I always think to myself, when the P verdict comes in: wouldn’t their client be better served if they made a reasonable offer from the beginning instead of having to pay a large verdict and a large legal bill?