Special interests vs. you

At Public Citizen’s Watchdog Blog, Graham Steele & David Arkush point out the problematic tendency of the press to treat issues of civil justice as clashes of special interests. Insurance companies vs. trial lawyers. Doctors vs. trial lawyers. Debt collectors vs. trial lawyers.

Always somebody vs. trial lawyers. Not “insurance companies vs. patients” or “debt collectors vs. consumers” or “corporate interests vs. the public interest.”

It is fun to demonize lawyers, but we do not always deserve it.

Most “trial lawyers” wear two hats. One hat is our lawyer hat. This one we wear in the courtroom. The other hat is our advocate hat. This is the hat we wear when the press talks about someone vs. the trial lawyers. We wear it when we advocate for the public interest.

As lawyers, we work hard for our clients, and those of us in private practice do get paid if we win or settle a case. Usually we are just lucky to actually get paid for the time and money we spent working on that case. Many other cases are handled by public interest groups like Public Citizen, where the lawyers get paid the same low salary whether they win or lose.

When we wear our advocate hat, we are looking out for the best interests of the people who come into our offices every day, many with heart-wrenching stories, but who we cannot help. Every month I tell many people “Yes, you got screwed, but there is nothing I can do.” It sucks feeling helpless, so I advocate for laws to protect those who I could not help so that I can help them the next time.

So whenever you read “trial lawyers” in the media, think “me, my family, my friends, and my neighbors” to yourself, because that is who “trial lawyers” represent.