As a No Win No Fee lawyer, I approach my clients with more care than usual. Since I know that they don’t come to seek my services unless they think their cases are meritorious and their economic capabilities are poor, I make it a point to look as if I agree with both of these assumptions. In other words, I don’t criticize their claims or their financial capabilities at the onset. As compared with other clients, I let my views, no matter how harsh, sink in only by degrees.
What for? The answer is that I am aware that such clients are fragile. For some reason, they come to me with the assumption that if I refuse their claims, they will have no choice but to condone their injurious accidents. In other words, if I would abandon them, then they might as well forget the cause of justice. Thus, if ever I feel that their cases must be rejected because they are not as meritorious as their claimants have envisioned, then I do so mildly, gently, and slowly.
Another way in which I change my attitude is that I smile and look concerned more often. Smiling has a wonderfully reassuring effect. Before, I always assumed a serious demeanor when talking to my clients, but I stopped when it came to the point that my client could not go on because my bleak disposition, according to him, signaled that his case was not worth my time. This was funny because I was thinking the exact opposite.
Looking concerned, on the other hand, also disarms my clients and makes them feel more comfortable. Talking to your lawyer, especially if he is a No Win No Fee lawyer, even just a prospective one, is highly similar to talking to your doctor. To him you relay all your problems, your fears, and your hopes. It makes a great difference, based on my experience, if such things were told to a person who just returned a blank and non-committal stare as opposed to a person who returned your entreaties and confidence with concern and sympathy.
Finally, it also helps if I encourage them to speak about non-legal topics just to break the monotony. In doing so, I make them see that although I may not accept their cases and act as their lawyer, that at least for the short period they consulted with me that I was their genuine friend.
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I believe that that people are not cheap by nature and feel that they spend money based on priorities. This helps to explain why people are more willing to splurge on family vacations instead of fancy food. Many will be willing to spend a lot on computer hardware but will choose open source or free software for their machines. And some will actually spend huge amounts of money on a car but will scrimp on the insurance. It is all really about priorities. Interestingly, health is one of those things that are low on the priority list. Perhaps it is because so many people take their health for granted; they do not attach a high value to it. That is, until they are in danger or losing it. It is for this reason that most people do not set aside budgets for health. They may set aside money for a vacation, a computer, and a car, but not for health insurance or even things like vitamins. So it is no surprise that when they are victims of medical negligence, they have absolutely nothing set aside for treatment. This is where the benefit of no win no fee medical claims come in. It is designed so victims of medical negligence do not have to go out of their way to realign their budgets in order to pay for medical expenses they never should have had in the first place. Under a no win no fee arrangement, victims can hire a lawyer and never have to worry about paying his legal fees because if the case wins, it is the other party that foots the bill. And if the victim should lose the case, they still do not have to pay their lawyer because that is part of the agreement. By going through no win no fee medical claims, victims can continue with their lives. They can continue to work with their priorities, which means not having to tighten budgets for their vacations, computers, cars, and other items that make life worth living. Please hear me out.
Recently, my friends and my wife have told me that my concern for the safety of my children has passed the threshold of “normalcy.” Apparently, I have become too paranoid. For instance, I prohibit my children from playing on the street. But this was only because one of my daughters almost got hit by an onrushing van before. Is it my fault if I wanted to keep my child healthy? Of course, I did scold her quite harshly afterwards, but that’s beside the point. Another time, my son stayed longer than usual at school. Now, I know middle school students, since they are just starting out their teenage years, have to be dealt with patiently, but how was I to know that he was merely working overtime to polish a class presentation and did not faint, or worse, get attacked by a bully? The security in his school is not at all dysfunctional (I’ve taken care to find him a good school, thank you!), but even then, you never know… I love my children so much that I don’t know what I could do if any of them gets hurt. But aside from that, I would never, if given the chance, get myself involved in another lawsuit. I’ve only recently settled a No Win No Fee UK claim at work. I admit I was at fault, so I finished the matter up quickly. But the whole experience has been traumatic. Receiving a demand letter, calling up my own lawyer, negotiating with the defendant, and the worst of all, having to shell out my own money (in this economy!) without having any power to disobey the law (I’ve no intentions in going back to rehab), well, I don’t really know how to describe how I feel. Lawsuits, whether No Win No Fee UK claims or whatever, don’t interest me at all, thank you. And if I could avoid having to do with any lawsuit at all by ensuring that my children are always safe—no more demanding anything from anybody, even if I or my children were the one to be compensated—then I could honestly say I’m living a happy life. So that’s that. My question is this: have I been overreacting? Am I, to use my wife’s words, “sacrificing my children’s happiness for my own”? Please don’t be afraid to share your thoughts. | AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesJune 2013 CategoriesAll |
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