As attorneys committed to practice, client satisfaction is always your primary goal, yet, inevitably, cases will be lost. What is the best way to handle your clients disappointment, or in some cases accusations of malpractice? How do attorneys really feel about lost cases, most especially personal injury cases? Is it just another day on the job, a professional set-back or a harrowing emotional experience?
Intrepid attorney Eric Turkewitz writes the following on his blog New York Personal Injury Law Blog:
There is no way to get around it: If you try cases for a living you will lose some. That’s just the way it is. But it’s not exactly the stuff you would read on someone’s website or firm brochure. Writing about your losses is the biggest taboo there is.
According to Turkewitz, there are different types of losing, and the details surrounding the loss are significant. “It could be the failure to present a bit of evidence. It could be a judge looking to torpedo your case or an unethical opponent. A pure question of fact (who had the green light?) could do it. Or just a case improvidently brought. But there are times when, even after losing, you look back and say you would take the same case again. Because you still believe in it. Those are the gut-wrenching ones. The clients you felt for. The righteous battles. The ones that left you up every night with a pad and pen by the bedside and your heart ultimately on the courtroom floor when the jury came back,” writes Turkewitz, who adds that he remains haunted by a particular lost case for a dying client with misdiagnosed breast cancer.
Aside from the emotional aspects of a lost case, what is the best way to handle client’s fees in these situations?
“A major concern of clients is that a failed personal injury case could wind up costing them big-time. If you recover the full amount of compensation you deserve, then paying any necessary legal fees won’t decrease your ability to get medical care and support your family. If you win nothing, though, the prospect of having to pay court fees and lawyers’ fees is intimidating,” writes attorney Richard Console in his blog post, Your Questions Answered: What Happens If You Lose a Personal Injury Case?
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