When Bill Collectors Cross the Line…..

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As the economy recovers – ever so slowly – there are still lots of people out there who had little choice but to live on their credit cards until they were able to find work after being unemployed or underemployed for months or even years. Most well intentioned people intend to pay off these credit cards bills, but sometimes it’s not fast enough for your bank credit card company. Many creditors have a deadline on repayment and when it’s not met, they “sell” your debt Read More + Read More +

The Myth of “Picking a Jury”

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Currently lawyers in the George Zimmerman murder trial of Trayvon Martin are picking a jury. In reality, lawyers don’t really “pick” a jury, so much as exclude those who express actual opinions. The process is known as “voir dire” and if you’ve never been called for jury duty, lawyers from both sides lob questions to the panel of potential jurors sitting in front of them to try to root out some information that would determine how that panelist thinks. So, for instance, a lawyer might Read More + Read More +

Food Poisoning – A Very *Messy* Subject

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Food poisoning cases don’t come around very often to a personal injury lawyer mainly because it is extremely difficult to pinpoint what exactly made you sick or even which meal you ate that day that contained the contaminated food. Was it something you ate from breakfast, lunch or dinner? However, as an injury attorney I have had some undisputed food poisoning cases:  I’ll share one and you’ll see what I mean. My client was in his early 20s and he owned a car detailing business. Read More + Read More +

Tacky TV Lawyer Ads Throughout the Land…

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It’s great fun to travel around the country and when I can, I always watch local TV stations to see how personal injury lawyers advertise in those jurisdictions. It’s always easy to find these ads too: Just turn on the half hour courtroom reality shows that air mid-day. The commercials that fill in between screaming, moronic litigants and a hapless “judge” are almost nothing but lawyer ads preying on those who are sitting at home during the middle of the workweek. For those who don’t Read More +

Forensics vs. Common Sense

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One of the more interesting cases I had a few years back had to do with an older gentleman and his wife who were walking through a local parking lot to go to the movies on a Friday night. Because of the popularity of this destination – especially on a Friday night – my client had to park many aisles away from the theater. His wife had agreed to walk ahead of him to get on line at the box office since the movie starting Read More +

My First Jury Trial – “You Want Me to Try That Case?”

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Years ago when I was a new attorney at a relatively large Tampa personal injury firm, the partners decided that it was time I expanded my courtroom experience to an actual jury trial on an injury case. Excited, yet nervous, I inquired about the case they had in mind. They kind of smirked and said, “It’s the kind of case even a new trial lawyer can’t screw up.” Intrigued and relieved, I asked for more information about this great car crash case that was a Read More + Read More +