r/LawFirm

You can read my post history. Prior to trial, OC asked if I would agree to authorize more medical treatment for his client if they won at trial. I asked for a draft of what he was thinking and he gave me three questions on the verdict sheet for the jury to decide. None of those questions said anything about authorizing more treatment. The jury sided with his client and chambers instructed plaintiff to draft an order for remand to the workers comp commission consistent with the order.

OC sent me a copy of the proposed order which included a provision on authorizing more treatment. I pushed back and said I disagreed. OC said I did agree and he was going to ask for attorney fees because I said I didn’t agree. I explained that the jury did not decide the issue of authorization for treatment and I would not agree to put it in the order. He said I was lying and was going to file a bar complaint against me for misconduct.

The partners all agree I did nothing wrong. I informed chambers we could not agree to language in the order and sent my proposed draft. He sent his proposed draft and said I was backing out of the agreement we made and wants to have a hearing to call me as a witness. He sent me another email saying that if I didn’t agree to the provision that he put in the order but the jury didn’t decide, I will have to testify as to how I harmed his firm and his client. He also said additional expenses will be sought against my client, my firm, and me for breach of the agreement.

I've never had a good experience with these kinds of clients.

Yes, occasionally emergencies or urgent questions arise with existing clients and cases, but if a potential client with whom I've never spoken before already operates under everything-is-an-emergency mode, I'm not even going to return their call.

Never worth it.

So i have an estate plan signing meeting with a couole. As I lead them to the room, I notice the husband is carrying a plastic grocery bag with some Tupperware in it. We sit down start chatting and the wife says "we brought this for the meeting. The husband proceeds to pull out the Tupperware and real forks. Husband says Costco pumpkin pie and slides a piece to me. He did apologize for no whipped cream. Going through the docs and noshing on Costco pumpkin pie.

I have a system but it’s hard to keep up with and frankly - horrible and needs improvement (if not an overhaul). Must be familiar with the new(ish) trust accounting rules that in CA. Any recommendations? Looking for an enthusiastic recc! Sole practitioner so obviously reasonable rates and outsourced, and would love someone I can stay with til the end :-) thank you!

I was asked by a higher up to put medical records into Claude and create a medical records summary. Even though our firm pays for Claude and supposedly the models are not trained on our data, I didn't feel this was ethical.

I was able to evade this task, but I fear I'll be asked again. Am I overthinking this, or does this violate some ethical standards?

I understand that a mistake from a doctor can cause death, but once you have the knowledge and experience, you can become textbook.

As for lawyers, if I were in their shoes, I'd be sweating daily, wondering if one word can change a whole contract, or a whole life. Maybe lead to a death as well. I'd be a very paranoid lawyer.

Not looking for the usual work-life balance answers. I mean the little things nobody really tells you until you experience them yourself. Could be anything like billing, clients, partners, office politics, career progression, literally anything.

Plaintiff personal injury attorneys, when presenting your client for a deposition, what does your deposition preparation look like?

- how far in advance before the deposition do you prep them? (weeks, days, hours, etc)
- do you prep on the phone or in person or zoom?
- how long do you meet with the client? (10 mins, 30 mins, an hour, etc)
- do you send them documents to review?

These questions are for cases that involve soft tissue injuries in car accidents or slip and falls.

Trying to find a balance between not overwhelming clients with information but covering everything that is essential. Sometimes it seems that no matter what I do, all they say is “can’t recall” or they completely go off script and mention something we never discussed.

For those with P.I. and/or insurance experience, when do insurance companies (e.g., progressive, State Farm, Allstate) set their reserves on a file?

What is the process for the adjusters to reset
and increase their reserves pre and post litigation?

Trying to get an understanding of when the best time for a plaintiff is to engage for settlement negotiations both pre and post suit being filed. Does your firm follow any hard rules on when to engage for settlement, do you follow a case by case approach, mix of each?

Has anyone successfully created a self-hosted AI? I want to download and add the statutes and case law from my state and then query it regarding my cases. I also want to scan in relevant parts of my client files. Being self-hosted there should be no client confidentiality consequences. If so where did you start? Has it been successful?

Fellow defense attorney running a solo practice. Most of my clients have completely messed up, and I'm left picking up the pieces. Considering the facts of most of my case, I would say I'm pretty damn good at getting favorable outcomes for clients. However, clients seem to not be as appreciative of this. How are we defense attorneys getting more reviews when our clients are complete no gooders.

I wish I was in personal injury handing out checks. If this a common issue for defense attorneys who also have a Google business profile? Would love some advice.

--one sad guy.