What promises do I make to my clients? Well, obviously, I promise that they are gonna get good representation, that they’re gonna get experienced and conscientious representation.

But one caution I try to make early on when people come for a consultation about a complex case is they made it through the phone filtering process, but the fact that I meet with you doesn’t mean that I’m gonna take you on as a client. If I take you on as a client, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna see your case out; it means that we’re gonna do a careful investigation. If I sue your case out, it doesn’t mean we’re gonna take it to trial. All sorts of things develop. Probably I will, okay, if necessary, but it’s not inherent.

If I take it to trial, I don’t promise to win. Won much more often than I’ve lost, but I don’t make my promises, and if I win, I don’t promise to collect. I got a $2 million verdict in a defamation wrongful firing case where the poor shmoe didn’t get a pay, but the only promise I do make is that the legal system is slow. It’s darn slow, and the bigger hurry that someone is in, the less value their case has. I don’t want a client who lives for their lawsuit. Maybe they can’t forget about their lawsuit if they’re, for example, have a trach tube their whole life or they’re paralyzed, but if they’re living for their lawsuit, that’s in error because that means they want it to settle tomorrow. “What’s happening? What’s happening? What’s happening?” And that loses value for a case.

Quite frankly, I’ve let the insurance defense bar know, “I’m in no hurry here. If we have to go to trial, we’re going to trial. I’m not gonna settle this case cheaply just so you can get off the hook early,” and so the promise I make to people is that you gotta be patient, and if you’re not patient, please find another lawyer.