Finding and keeping an agressive lawyer.

[edthecncman]

I live in North Carolina and have my business and personal affairs dealt with in this state. My question is where can I find an incredibly aggressive attorney to keep in my corner? I have had some legal issues arise in the past and seem to pick lawyers that want to help me get what is rightfully mine until I pay them 1500.00-2000.00, then waffle down the stretch. I checked my records and in the last two years, have paid out over 10,000.00 in attorney fees and have absolutely nothing to show for it. The opposing attorney has proven to be aggressive to the point of being obnoxious and sometimes downright nasty in many instances. I want one like that. In one case, I knew that the opposing attorney was lying to the arbitrator and told my lawyer. He said there was nothing we could do at that time. I don't have a good track record in winning these things and I want to turn things around.

[ditaloca]

Competence is hard to find these days, and on top of it getting a compatent lawyer who actually cares and can remember your case is even harder.

Have you checked the naca website?
Called your news investigative reporters, they often do stories on consumer issues and can at least point the way to some decent lawyers.


Anyone who says talk is cheap has never hired a lawyer!

[trueq]

From big national law firms, to major corporate counsel for national companies, to the local "Maybury" operating out of the local outhouse.

LAWYERS ALL HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON....

They all want to do the least amount to settlle a case, AND ALMOST ALL OF THEM WANT TO STAY OUT OF COURT.

Going to court constantly is a huge mental grind. I just talked with some ex-debt lawyers who converted to consumer attorneys who just want to negotiate for you and don't want to go to court, ever!

Literally, anything can happen. There can be major differences from judge to judge on same set of facts!

I participated in a major class arbitration where the organization I was a part of spent 3.5 million on attorneys fees. (Other side had more lawyers and spent close to 5 milllion in legal fees.) I had to spend 4 days in Denver preparing and waiting for my turn to testify. Those were the 4 most mental grueling days of my life, and I was just listening most of the time! I was mentally shot for at least a week after!

I also read an article in our state's bar magazine lamenting the lack of trial experience most lawyers have! The average lawyer only tries 4 cases in front of a jury every ten years!!! (This includes criminal cases.) This means civil cases rarely get to a jury.

Lawyers don't like court because its the most cost inefficient way to get things done. They know 95% of their clients don't have deep pockets and will not get paid beyond $2000 for the average client anyway.

[FlaLawyer]

It has become near impossible to get civil jury trial experience. Good luck finding anyone with civil jury trial experience at the big firm level.

The otherside always seems to call me the day before trial and settle the case. In the last several years I have had only one civil jury trial go to verdict. Which is more than the vast majority of civil litigators. I have friends at PI firms that have practiced for more than five years and still have not had a trial. They likely will never have a trial.

[newryman]

Originally Posted by edthecncman

The opposing attorney has proven to be aggressive to the point of being obnoxious and sometimes downright nasty in many instances. I want one like that. .

So hire him.

[ditaloca]

"Down right nasty"

Not usually a favorable personality trait. Funny its prized in a lawyer.

[jq26]

Originally Posted by trueq

Lawyers don't like court because its the most cost inefficient way to get things done.

Most cases settle for three reasons.
1) Litigation costs a fortune. Most cases below a certain threshold of potential recovery can't litigate because it is cost prohibitive. Pro se parties don't realize that because their bill rate is $0. When you have to pay someone $250/hr, simple math by a client means settlement is highly likely. This is for the benefit of the client, not the attorney. If you want to pay an attorney $250/hr to work 25 hours on a case potentially worth $5000, I am sure they'll line up to do so. They may ask you to pay upfront though!
2) Unless there is some novel issue at hand, most cases are predetermined based on case law. If counsel for both sides did their homework, they know what the outcome will be. This creates another strong incentive to settle. Why roll the dice when odds are stacked against you? Why roll the dice when it is likely you will win and risk litigation costs and NO recovery?
3) Civ Pro rules require attorneys to sign and verify that pleadings are factually accurate (to the best of their knowledge) and claims and defenses have merit under current law (See Rule 11 in federal court and Rule 9011 in BK court, states have their own versions!). Many of the multiple "throw at the wall anmd see what sticks" defenses posted on this site by pro se defendants are clearly without merit and would result in sanctions if brought by an attorney. There are also ethics issues for attorneys who stretch these rules. Even if your client wants you to make certain defenses, the attorney cannot unless there is merit (except in criminal defense cases). An attorney could be censured, suspended, or disbarred for repeat offenses.

[rikkivs]

With regard to your statement jq26, I've seen a HUGE number of cases at this point. The one thing that they all have in common is that when the defendant hired an attorney for every defensive pleading, there are usually quite a few affirmative defenses that are used on this site. The most common ones are:

1.Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
2.Laches
3.Unclean hands
4.Breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing
5.Lack of standing (which doesn't seem to get anyone very far but is often used anyway)
6.Statute of limitations
7.Negligence
8.Assumption of the risk
9.No attorney fees recoverable

And the list continues. I saw a few pleadings that had over twenty affirmative defenses and they were prepared by attorneys! It seems as though we hold attorneys in high regard, given their training. But in these matters, many of them on both sides tend to be sloppy. I guess its because of the volume of work that they do, but it still is disappointing...


With that said, from what I can tell many pro se litigants that actually respond lose when they miss deadlines or screw up on procedures somehow. I have also seen judges chastise them for not preparing documents according to the local rules of court etc. However, it is encouraging that these hurdles can be overcome with a better understanding of potential traps to fall in etc...

[wahoo238]

If you happen to be in Mecklenburg Co, there was/is a who’s who of Charlotte attorneys, that’s where I found my divorce attorney and was quite pleased. Both Mecklenburg and
NC Bar assoc members offer discount initial consults if you are Attorney shopping.

[FlaLawyer]

A recent blog on the matter.