Personal Injury Law

The Trial Attorney's Role: Why We Do What We Do

By Pete Mackey

If you have never been represented by a trial attorney during a time of personal tragedy - an injury, financial devastation or losing a loved one, you may not understand all the aspects of our role. Sure, it's our job to fight for your rights and get you just compensation. But that will only happen down the road and it may take two or three years. It may never come at all. In the meantime, you are recovering from your injury or going through the grief process of losing a loved one. Life is not good. Part of our job is to ease you through this tough time.

We understand that you did not walk into our office to tell us what a great day that you've had. Both the lawyers and staff in firms that do this type of work understand your pain and will do anything possible to help you through this difficult time. We act as counselors, but we are not licensed clinical counselors. It is our general experience that our clients are dealing with those folks during this time, as well. We understand all this because we do it again and again.

A good attorney never takes this aspect of the job for granted. Periodically, however, it can slip slightly off of front and center, until a new client's tragedy jars us back into focus. Or maybe it's not a client - maybe it's a friend. I saw a man that I knew from baseball coaching days (10 years ago) last Saturday and we talked about the old days and our families - good stuff. I had not seen him in a while. I picked up this morning's paper and saw that his 22 year old son was killed in a collision in South Carolina. It makes me sad to type these words. I have felt short waves of blue two or three times this morning. If I feel like that about a young man that I never knew well and his father who I have not seen in a long while, what is this poor family going through?

For some lawyers, the process of helping folks through these times are just to painful to bear. For others, seeing them recover, both financially and emotionally, is a powerful draw. Those others are trial attorneys.

Full post as published by Mobile Personal Injury Lawyer on January 22, 2009 (boomark / email).