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You have cases where the plaintiff’s claims have merit? For me … I’d say that out of every 20 cases I handle, there is maybe 1 with colorable claims.
This is my experience too in California where every terminated employee apparently has a claim 🙄
I'm on the plaintiff side. It's a recent change and I don't like it. A very small % of potential clients who come to me actually have a viable case, so I spend a lot of time screening calls from people who are convinced that they have a good case but who actually don't understand their own company's policies (or the law, but that's not the point).
When they do, getting them to cooperate by providing documents, answering questions or participating in depositions is like pulling teeth. They say that they understand that they have to help me to gather information when I first bring them on as a client, but that turns out to be untrue really quick. I have to drag them through the legal process kicking and screaming, which absolutely blows my mind because they contacted me AND I'm trying to get them money that they earned.
As defense attorneys, we see more of the facts that others in the case. As others have said, for EEO case types, the percentage that have any real merit is probably 5-10%. Most of the time, it is bad employees with interpersonal or mental health issues that haven’t been honest with themselves about their behavior, mistakes, etc. Those people are engaging in a shakedown and, while I don’t wish them ill, I feel no guilt about defending against it. Union avoidance training, on the other hand, is actively evil in my view.
I’m with you. The only EEO-type cases I’ve seen that have some merit have some sort of sexual harassment/quid pro quo component and plaintiff has texts to back that up. I’ve seen plenty of good CA wage and hour cases. If I went to plaintiffs side I’d take those. I used to do management side labor and felt icky about that sometimes.
i made the switch and sleep better at night. i disagree with some of the other comments and find that at least at my firm, we take righteous cases and reject the ones without merit or we settle them quickly at a low rate once we find out there are issues that we did not know about. you need to have a good bs detector.
i will agree that at times, it can feel like hearding cats when it comes to obtaining documents and evidence from client. there are times i do feel like i get treated as a “free lawyer” whose time is not appreciated, ie not showing up for appointments and questioning our fees when the case settles. I spend a lot of time explaining our fees are commensurate given that if we charged them at an hourly rate, they would have way less in their pocket and we are taking all the risk in fronting costs they don’t have to reimburse if we lose. I also do a lot of heavy lifting at the beginning and tell clients i won’t file their case until they give me all of their documents and records so i have my ducks in a row and can substantiate their allegations.
Nonetheless, there is nothing like the feeling when a client thanks you profusely for being their “guardian angel” who has truly changed their lives for the better. if your politics lean conservative, it is probably not for you. If you want to play robin hood and have an interest in wealth redistribution, then it may be for you. Be picky with the firms you interview with. As defense counsel, you know which plaintiff firms zealously advocate for righteous clients and which firms are mills just looking to make quick bucks.
In my experience if my client messed up (usually because they understandably don’t understand the law), I can get them to pay the plaintiff so I don’t have moral qualms about it. I think it’s worse for these plaintiffs attorneys to take meritless cases and lead their clients to believe they are getting a six figure settlement and drag them through litigation so they can get their cut. I have worked on a few plaintiffs side cases and the clients have lied every time.
Agree with other posters that I rarely see cases with actual merit. It’s certainly harder with those cases, but we do the best to educate our clients and resolve those quickly.
As a plaintiff employment lawyer, I will tell you the truly strong cases usually settle pre-suit or very early on. The rest are debatable or nuisances.