Are all trial lawyers good? Really?

[The Backlash Cometh]

We have been trying to look for the reasons that we never seem to get ahead, the places where we continually get sold out and there's one that exists right under your nose. Campaign Donors with deep pockets, who also have the ability to skirt the laws politically to benefit their clients. Who are they? trial lawyers.

I don't wish to bismirch all those good lawyers out there who are everything they appear to be, (Erin Brockovich, you rule!) but I'm trying to open your eyes to see a big problem in the Dem party.

Not every trial lawyer deserves your loyalty. If you agree, please check into the link below and kick, since there has been an attempt all morning to bury it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1119084

[Taverner]

1. Trial Lawyers are people

Some are good, some are bad, and yet some cheat on their wife, dying of cancer, with some hack videographer. Not that I'm speaking of anyone specifically.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. And when they clan together, hiding their or their clients misdeeds behind

confidentiality clauses, that makes them just as bad as Republicans.

[Taverner]

3. Especially when they promise a private Dave Matthews concert to their betrothed

[gratuitous]

4. Confidentiality clauses are usually imposed by the defendants

You're aware of that, right?

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Actually, that makes things even clearer.

You might say, the defendants tried to make the case that the plaintiff requested the confidentiality clause. Thanks for another piece of the puzzle! The lawyers were the defendants. Need I say more?

[JDPriestly]

11. Scalia wrote a decision stating that attorneys are bound by

their duty of confidentiality to their clients until everyone is dead.

That is the law. It's not the attorney's choice. It is an old, old tenet in English/American law.

Sorry for you, but don't blame the attorney.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. How far can they go to protect that confidentiality clause?

Does it also mean hiding their conflicts of interest? Is that acceptable? At what point does it become fraud if they do?

[JDPriestly]

23. Ironically, you probably need to ask a lawyer about the specific facts

of your situation. Sorry. I can say something general, but I can't answer your question.

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. What are the prongs for fraud?

Surely, that would be an easy answer?

[JDPriestly]

28. Look it up.

[The Backlash Cometh]

29. Is there a difference for Civil fraud and Criminal fraud?

And what would be the source book? This isn't my forte. Who knew that taking a Criminal Law class would have been helpful BEFORE becoming a resident of FLorida?

[JDPriestly]

31. Call your local library and, if they don't have helpful books,

ask whether there is a law library at a nearby university or area around the court. There are special law librarians. You can do a little research online just for basic definitions. It's complicated. That's why lawyers charge to represent clients. Not only do they have to go to law school and take a bar examination that, at least in California, is very competitive, but, throughout their careers, they have to study and read the law.

You may not like lawyers, but they don't have an easy job.

[The Backlash Cometh]

32. I love lawyers.

Except for the dishonest, crooked, liars, deceivers, arrogant pricks in the profession.

[gratuitous]

18. Yeah, you need to say more

Because I'm not understanding. "Trial lawyers" is the usual appellation for personal injury attorneys and other attorneys who bring actions for torts against corporations for civil wrongs. "Defense lawyers" is the profession's term for the attorneys hired by the insurance companies (or the self-insured corporation) to defend a corporation from allegations of wrong-doing.

When a case is settled out of court without a trial, the settlement agreement often has a confidentiality clause that prevents a party from disclosing anything other than the fact that a mutually agreed settlement was reached between the parties. Defendants will usually not settle a claim without a confidentiality clause. Oftentimes a plaintiff (that is, the party seeking relief) will agree to the confidentiality clause in order to avoid the time, expense and uncertainty of going to trial. Settlements often include a disclaimer of fault or liability as well, allowing the defendant to avoid an admission of wrongdoing in exchange for settling the case. The way to avoide confidentiality clauses and disclaimers of liability is to proceed to trial and get a verdict on the court docket, which is a public record. Since both sides agree to the settlement, it could be said that both sides requested or agreed to a confidentiality clause. Is there a reason it makes a difference in the particular case you're not talking about?

In the case of a lawyer being sued for malpractice or other tort, laws and state bar association rules vary from state to state. If you think that lawyers in your state are getting too free a ride for failing to adhere to the highest professional standards, I'd suggest getting in touch with your state's bar association. In the state I'm familiar with, there is a Board of Governors that sets professional and ethical standards for all attorneys licensed in the state, and there is a citizen seat on that Board.

[JDPriestly]

9. Lawyers have a duty of confidentiality to ever client.

They write confidentiality clauses for their clients.

Are you complaining about lawyers who invoke their duty of confidentiality to their clients? Or are you complaining about lawyers who write confidentiality clauses into contracts their clients use?

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. What if those clients are other lawyers?

And what if they may have had a secondary involvement in the tort?

And what if they criss-cross with professional courtesies to protect each other's back?

[wilt the stilt]

6. Trial lawyers represent the average guy

Big law firms represent money. That is the bottom line

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. So what do you call a big law firm of trial lawyers?

What wordage is necessary to get through? Are trial lawyers a sacred cow for Democrats because they tend to be big campaign donors for Dem causes? You tell me how to get through to open people's eyes so they can see how it is that our world became so upside down? Why would it surprise people in DU to realize that the blame would be some sacred cow?

[wilt the stilt]

20. you don't have any idea what you are talking about n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

25. I'm sure that Valerie Plame and Sybil Edmonds heard the same thing.

So, since you know all, what are the prongs for fraud?

[wilt the stilt]

26. If I could trake you to the side and under confidentiality

I could tell you things that would shock you.

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. I don't doubt it for a minute. Hence, the reason why I'm going after

the lawyers because issues that affect the public interest, should not be allowed to be put under a confidentiality clause.

[JDPriestly]

8. Depends on the trial lawyer.

They are usually much smarter than even the average lawyer, quick on their feet, logical in their thinking and good with words.

But trial lawyers take all sides. They prosecute and they defend. And, surprise: Most of the trial lawyers I have known were conservative Republicans.

I think you are really talking about Plaintiff's lawyers -- lawyers represent ordinary people in claims against corporations. They do a necessary, very difficult job.

And if they are generous to the Democratic Party, my advice is: Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth.

Better to take money from trial lawyers than from Wall Street gamblers.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. I think the problem is, that people can't really comprehend the damage

they're capable of inflicting in a community. They may not be responsible for the good ole boy networks that cause great chaos, but they sure do know how to legitimize the behavior.

[DefenseLawyer]

13. Erin Brockovich isn't a lawyer

but she does rule. That said, I'm not a civil lawyer, I've been a criminal defense lawyer for all of my 17 years of practice and we are used to being the black sheep of the legal community, and while plaintiff's lawyers often get a similar bad rap, they do far more good than bad. Without them average people would routinely be crushed by anyone with money that wronged them.

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. She never got her law degree?

That is some serious paralegal.

[JonLP24]

16. Isn't she one now?

I seem to remember reading something that she got into that field after her famous case. I'm probably completely wrong though.

[wilt the stilt]

22. Ding ding ding- we have a winner

You got it. People have no idea how big the big firms are.

[kanrok]

17. What is your definition of "trial lawyer"?

What is your definition of "confidentiality clause"?

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. Definitions:

Trial Lawyers: lawyers who sell themselves as lawyers for the common people.

Confidentiality Clause: An agreement between the plaintiff and defendants to keep the details of a Legal Complaint quiet. However, because the details are kept secret, people (including lawyers in the community) are allowed to spread disinformation, including the confusion of gag order vs. confidentiality clause. In addition, the mission to keep things quiet overrides everything, including due process of law.

[Blue-Jay]

21. Are all *anything* ___________ ?

No.

[Odin2005]

30. My opinion of many trial lawyers is summed up by the movie "Liar Liar"....