MYTHS AND SECRET TRUTHS ABOUT OUR SYSTEM

Our system of justice is whacko. It's also a wonder. It's a wonder that it works at all. And to have faith in it is to have faith that a crazy person will sometimes act perfectly sane. The crazy thing about our system is that it is made of rules which often shield ordinary people from the truth. Ironic isn't it?

Today, I thought I'd share a few secrets that I've learned in court. I share them with you here to acknowledge that we who stand before juries and talk to them often forget that jurors don't have the foggiest idea about the inner truths of the courtroom. 

Consider these ten myths and secrets truths about our system:

1) Myth: people who get sued pay the costs of the suit. Secret truth: In almost every case insurance companies cover all the costs and even pay for the lawyer who represents the person or company being sued. Oh, and another thing: though it's lawyer is in the courtroom, the insurance company can't even be mentioned.

2) Myth: trial lawyers are made rich by their client's suffering. Secret truth: the vast majority of trial lawyers don't make more than a teacher in college. Big verdicts and big cases, even today, are just not that common. In addition, with percentage fee agreements, trial lawyers take all the risk of not getting paid as well as fronting all the costs in the event of a loss. Still, this is the only way millions of people can afford legal representation.

3) Myth: trial lawyers get settlement money for their client's merely by suing for a lot of it. Secret truth: Insurance companies often rely upon very sophisticated computer technology to determine the amount that they will pay when someone is hurt. The company, not the lawyer, decides what it will pay in a settlement. Of course, none of this can be mentioned in court.

4) Myth: the insurance company will take care of your bills, so work with them and they'll help you. Secret truth: Actually, if you get hurt, the insurance company will first study the contract it has with you to see if it has an obligation to pay you anything. Then it will dictate what you will get. And if an insurance company actually decides to pay any of your medical bills, you will be required to repay it the money it paid out to you if you win a lawsuit against the person who hurt you or caused your loss.

5) Myth: juries are at the mercy of crafty trial lawyers who trick them into paying unreasonably large amounts for pain and suffering. Secret truth: In almost every instance, judges have the discretion to reduce the amount of money an injured person wins from a jury verdict. That's what happened in the McDonald's Coffee Cup Case.

6) Myth: judges are experienced, well-respected lawyers. Secret truth: Elected judges are necessarily popular, not necessarily good. I have tried many cases in front of elected judges who have never ever tried a case.

7) Myth: the courtroom is the only place where a juror gets information about a case. Secret truth: Jurors go on line now and use computers to read up on the lawyers and cases before them.

8) Myth: cases settle simply because it's cheaper than fighting them. Secret truth: defense lawyers need work (now more than ever since tort reform reduced the number and/or size of defense firms) and they may often persuade their clients to pay for it.

9) Myth: sneaky lawyers who twist words successfully distort the truth in a way that helps dishonest clients win. Secret truth: lawyers like that don't last long and clients like that usually end up in prison. Those kinds of antics are quickly and easily defeated by honesty.

10) Myth: trial lawyers often invent clever lawsuits just to make money. Secret fact: inventing a lawsuit is unethical and if discovered will result in the termination of a lawyer's license.

I offer these truths in light of the fact that I recently heard a scathing attack on trial lawyers by Michael Medved, a conservative radio talk show host. He called trial lawyers "slimly little John Edwardses who get rich off of injured people and who don't produce anything in society." The fact is, Mr. Medved's point of view is warped by the lies he's heard. He doesn't have the slightest idea about what it is trial lawyers actually do, and I don't blame him for his vitriolic opinion. I blame the lawyers for letting these kinds of opinions to go unchecked. You see, the truth is, we lawyers do contribute to society. We shape and interpret the laws that maintain society. And by that hard work, we show the world justice.