Small Law Firms

Attorneys Should Have More Respect For Plaintiffs' Lawyers

It very intimidating and difficult to be a plaintiffs’ lawyer.

By  
on

As many people already know, it is oftentimes not easy being a plaintiffs’ lawyer.  Sure, everyone understands that plaintiffs’ lawyers are usually not paid unless they obtain a recovery, and this uncertainty can make it difficult to earn a living.  In addition, most people understand that plaintiffs’ lawyers oftentimes must shell out their own money to pay for litigation costs, and that this money will not be repaid if they lose a case.  However, there are a variety of other practical reasons why it is very intimidating to be a plaintiffs’ lawyer, and why members of the plaintiffs’ bar should command more respect within the legal profession.

One of the most difficult parts about being a plaintiffs’ lawyer is that there is usually only one plaintiff in a case, whereas there are often multiple defendants in a given matter.  This oftentimes makes it very intimidating and difficult to be a plaintiffs’ lawyer.  I first understood this reality when I was a “street lawyer” towards the beginning of my career.  Although I was responsible for defending about 40 cases, I also had one plaintiffs’ case.  My boss had decided to take a matter on contingency, and I was tasked with performing all of the duties related to this plaintiffs’ case.

The first time I went to court on this matter, I was shocked to discover that there were five defense attorneys representing separate defendants in this case.  This made it really intimidating to appear at the conference, since every demand I made at the conference was shouted down by several other lawyers.  I really felt like they were ganging up on me!  It might be difficult for defense lawyers to realize it, but it can be difficult and intimidating to stare down multiple lawyers at a conference all by yourself and keep your composure.  I have gotten used to being outnumbered since I started working on more plaintiffs’ matters at my own law firm, but it is difficult to get comfortable facing a number of other lawyers at the same time in court.

It can also be hard to deal with multiple defense lawyers at depositions.  I am sure that everyone has heard the expression “more heads are better than one” and this definitely applies when multiple defense lawyers face off against one plaintiffs’ attorney.  Plaintiffs’ lawyers can often be disadvantaged when multiple defense lawyers think of unique questions that can affect a case.  Furthermore, having several defense lawyers all making objections can make it hard for a plaintiffs’ attorney to create a favorable record.  In addition, it can be intimidating for a sole plaintiffs’ lawyer to participate in a deposition against multiple defense lawyers who are all objecting, making statements for the record, and ganging up on the plaintiffs’ attorney.

Having multiple defense lawyers to deal with can also make it difficult when responding to motions.  Although a defendant usually only makes one summary judgment motion, plaintiffs’ attorneys often have to respond to multiple dispositive motions at the same time.  In addition, more heads are usually better than one, and multiple defense lawyers can oftentimes bounce ideas off each other when opposing a plaintiffs’ attorney.  I remember one time when I was on the plaintiffs’ side, one of the defense lawyers made a good argument about why a colleague failed to satisfy a technicality in our motion to amend the complaint.  The next defendant to file opposition to our motion, seemed to read the argument that her co-defendant made, and expounded upon this argument in more detail!  In any event, opposing several defense attorneys means that plaintiffs’ lawyers have to contend with  combined efforts by defense lawyers when prosecuting a case.

In addition, having to deal with multiple defense lawyers can make it extremely difficult to satisfy discovery obligations.  Of course, each defendant is entitled to a bill of particulars in many cases, and it can be difficult to produce this document for each separate defendant.  Also, responding to the multiple discovery demands of several defendants can be extremely hard.  Whereas defendants only usually have one plaintiff to request documents from, plaintiffs usually need to respond to demands from multiple defendants, and this can be extremely difficult.

Furthermore, it is not uncommon for defense lawyers to divvy up tasks associated with multiple defendants mounting a defense in a given case.  Sometimes, one defense attorney takes the medical lead in a case, and oftentimes a defense lawyer takes point on obtaining expert reports that all of the defendants can share when defending the case.  However, plaintiffs’ lawyers need to do all of this work themselves and need to shell out all of the money associated with retaining experts.

Sponsored

In the end, some attorneys have a dim view of plaintiffs’ lawyers.  However, it is very difficult to be the plaintiffs’ attorney in a variety of different cases.  Plaintiffs’ lawyers typically need to face off against multiple defense lawyers, and these attorneys must conduct all of the work related to prosecuting a case by themselves.

Jordan Rothman is the Managing Attorney of The Rothman Law Firm, a New Jersey and New York litigation boutique. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at [email protected].

Sponsored

Topics

, ,