This South Carolina case reminds us of our responsibilities when receive money on behalf of a client and are aware that a portion of the proceeds have been assigned to a third party. The Court found that the lawyer was aware of the assignment and went on to say as…
Plaintiff’s lawyers need to be aware that legislation passed last year by the General Assembly requires the reporting of fees and expenses received as a result of medical negligence litigation in 2006. The reports are due at the offices of the Department of Commerce and Insurance on or before April…
This fascinating article is written by J.D. Hull, a lawyer from San Diego. It is called "Professionalism Revisited: What About the Client? It makes some wonderful points about the client view of what we call in the South the "good ol’ boy system" of law practice. We are seeing increasing…
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are being changed to make them more readable. This post from Trial Ad Notes discusses the change and gives an example on how Rule 6 would be re-written. All 250 pages of the proposed revisions may be found here. The rules are still in…
Judge Young from Blount County, who enjoys a good reputation and whom I have always found to be quite pleasant, has popped a plaintiff with over $1,000,000 in sactions for "scorched earth" litigation tactics. According to Knoxnews.com, Judge Young wrote that "[t]he summary judgment record shows that [plaintiff]O’Boyle did not…
Is there anything duller than the rules of service of process? Perhaps not. Unless the only thing standing between you and collection of a $53,000,000 default judgment is application of those rules. Or unless your defense to a $53,000,000 default judgment is failure of service of process. Then Rule 4…
My friend Keith Williams posted a comment that asked about the Tennessee ethics opinion that discusses how to handle the issue raised in the proceeding post – how should we handle liens asserted by health care providers when we have not signed a contract obligating us (as lawyers) to recognize…
You resolve a case by settlement or judgment and the check is sent to your office. The check has been deposited in your trust account, has cleared the bank, and the proceeds are now ready for distribution. There are several health care providers who gave care to your client concerning…
Pennsylvania lawyer Michael Radbill, a Philadelphia attorney who served time in prison for defrauding insurance companies by filing claims on behalf of personal injury plaintiffs who faked injuries and participated in staging slip-and-falls, has been disbarred. He served a one year prison term – which seems light but seems truly…
The male plaintiff said that he slipped, fell, and sustained various injuries on the sidewalk outside of his apartment early one morning. He and his wife brought suit. Defendant found a medical record (from a provider not listed in answers to interrogatories by the plaintiffs) that indicated that plaintiff was…