The Problem of Having Really Good Plaintiff Cases

If you handle plaintiff cases your dreams are of what I call the “Holy Trinity” cases: Great Liability, Big Damages, and a Well Insured Deep Pocket Defendant. And, even better, you would think, is one after another of those cases. But, as they say, in every silver lining there is a black cloud.

A recent three-week trial provides lessons for long-term career development for trial lawyers principally handling cases for plaintiffs. Since my practice consists of two-thirds defense and one-third plaintiffs (including one nine figure verdict for a plaintiff) I can give you a view from both sides of the “v”. In this case I happened to be defending.

The injuries were initially catastrophic with the plaintiff having “died” (a bit of exaggeration by plaintiff’s counsel in opening statement, but nonetheless she did have a very low pulse and respiration rate) in the ambulance to the hospital. She had been crushed between my client’s semi-tractor trailer and a stopped car in a sorority car wash taking place in a shopping center parking lot. “Squished” was plaintiff’s counsel favorite word in the trial.

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Close Poll Results = Hot Campaigning Ahead

There was audible reaction in the audience of about 100 who were present when Professor Charles Franklin unveiled the primary finding of the new round of the Marquette Law School Poll: The race between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Mary Burke is essentially a dead heat as of now. That strong reaction echoed across the Wisconsin political world and beyond with its clear signal that this will be a close race that will likely pick up additional energy and attention now.

But in addition to the highlighted results – Walker and Burke each drew 46% support among registered voters and Walker led by a narrow 48% to 45% among those who say they are “absolutely certain” to vote in November – there were interesting indications of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. Those carried implications for what strategies the campaigns will pursue over the remaining five-plus months of the campaign for governor.

In brief, results of the new poll, and comparisons with prior polls, show Burke gaining strength among women and younger voters, while Walker remains strong among men and older voters. Burke does better than Walker on an “empathy” question – does a candidate care about people like you – and Walker does better on a question about whether a candidate is someone who is “able to get things done.”

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Congratulations to Marquette Pro Bono Award Recipients Mindy Nolan and Bryant Park

Congratulations to graduating law students Mindy Nolan and Bryant Park, who were honored this academic year for their pro bono work.  The Wisconsin State Bar awarded Mindy Nolan as Public Interest Law Student of the Year, and the Milwaukee Bar Association awarded Bryant Park as Pro Bono Law Student of the Year.

Mindy NolanPro bono work has been a focus of Mindy Nolan’s time in law school.  Mindy was the recipient of two Public Interest Law Society (PILS) summer fellowships, which enabled her to work for the Public Defender in Rhinelander in 2012 and the Public Defender in Milwaukee in 2013. Her pro bono work centered on the Milwaukee Justice Center’s family help desk.  Angela Schultz, the Pro Bono Director at the Law School, said in her nominating letter to the State Bar:

As a regular supervising attorney of the help desk, I have observed Ms. Nolan’s professionalism, patience, and kindness, along with her high level of competence learning this complex system.  She treats each person accessing the help desk with the same level of respect, infusing into her volunteer work a sense that all members of our community deserve equal access to justice.  When given the opportunity to complete an advanced training in family law forms, she jumped at the chance and as a result has been able to assist with a broader range of issues being presented by community members accessing the help desk.

 

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