[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/blog\/flipping-the-script\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/blog\/flipping-the-script\/","headline":"Flipping the Script: A Career Defense Attorney Crosses the \u201cV.\u201d and Wishes he had Done it Sooner","name":"Flipping the Script: A Career Defense Attorney Crosses the \u201cV.\u201d and Wishes he had Done it Sooner","description":"After 24 years in practice, all of it spent defending public entity clients in civil litigation, and most of it spent as in-house counsel, it was time for a change.\u00a0 Though there was a certain comfort in listening to the low hum of the slow-turning wheels of bureaucracy, as time went on I found that […]","datePublished":"2019-04-04","dateModified":"2022-09-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/blog\/author\/injury-attorneys\/#Person","name":"Demas Law Group, P.C.","url":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/blog\/author\/injury-attorneys\/","identifier":7,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d2d1dc668da653fd25c47bc01fca53aff1d3e1f6971487d8eb8e56cf2bae38c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d2d1dc668da653fd25c47bc01fca53aff1d3e1f6971487d8eb8e56cf2bae38c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Demas Law Group, P.C.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/demas-logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/demas-logo.png","width":158,"height":141}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Flipping-the-Script-Demas-Law-Group.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Flipping-the-Script-Demas-Law-Group.jpg","height":1080,"width":1080},"url":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/blog\/flipping-the-script\/","about":["Our Firm"],"wordCount":779,"articleBody":"After 24 years in practice, all of it spent defending public entity clients in civil litigation, and most of it spent as in-house counsel, it was time for a change.\u00a0 Though there was a certain comfort in listening to the low hum of the slow-turning wheels of bureaucracy, as time went on I found that having to explain the many nuances that impact case evaluation to a group of number crunchers began to feel like discussing poetry with an IRS auditor.Though I\u2019ve never really wanted to do anything in the law other than litigation, I never felt \u201cdestined\u201d to be a defense attorney.\u00a0 As a government lawyer, I made it a point to seek out the truth and this led to fair and reasonable results and good relationships with my colleagues and adversaries.\u00a0 When I left government practice, one of those adversaries, John Demas, gave me a great opportunity to reinvent myself and my career.From the outset of my new life, it was obvious that representing plaintiffs is significantly more difficult than defense work \u2013 it\u2019s always harder to create than to destroy.\u00a0 That truism aside, a couple of observations from a former outsider now on the inside:I am now a much happier human being.\u00a0 As it turns out, carrying around the cynicism that is the hallmark of many defense lawyers can really mess up one\u2019s posture.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t take long on the plaintiff\u2019s side to see that most plaintiffs really are hurt.\u00a0 Some may not be as well-equipped to handle the adversity of being injured as others, but the default defense position that there is some exaggeration or malingering in every case is clearly misguided.\u00a0 Helping a real person understand the legal system, insurance principles, and medical jargon is unbelievably rewarding, regardless of whether they become a client.The burden of proof really is quite a burden.\u00a0 It hangs over everything.\u00a0 I\u2019m not suggesting it is ill-conceived or unfair, rather we have a brilliant system of civil justice.\u00a0 But, just as Half Dome is beautiful, it is treacherous to climb.\u00a0 The often-used analogy of the scales of justice requiring only the slightest weight to tip ever so slightly in the Plaintiff\u2019s direction is, of course, false.\u00a0 The scales don\u2019t start evenly balanced \u2013 they start with the Plaintiff\u2019s side completely unweighted.\u00a0 It is up to us to add weight until we surpass the weight built into the system.\u00a0 Now I see why so much time is spent in voir dire to root out bias built around attorney advertising, contingency fees, hot coffee spills and philosophical opposition to money for harm.\u00a0 Climbing a sheer rock wall is daunting enough without having to do it in blinding rain or gusty wind.\u00a0Much of the defense dogma is simply wrong.\u00a0 By limiting the scope of a subpoena for medical records plaintiff\u2019s counsel is trying to hide something?\u00a0 Lien-based treatment is evidence of \u201cattorney-directed treatment?\u201d\u00a0 A Facebook post depicting the Plaintiff smiling or traveling in the months after an accident is evidence of no injury?\u00a0 Gaps in treatment are gaps in symptoms?\u00a0 These well-worn myths are simply shortcuts to dealing with cases head-on.\u00a0A defense perspective in a plaintiff\u2019s firm is valuable \u2013 in moderation.\u00a0 No one is going to rank me as one of the great legal minds of our time, but I could write a Keenan & Ball style practice guide on the things that terrify defense lawyers.\u00a0 There is a vast difference between knowing where the pressure points are (seminar law) and the pain you feel when they are squeezed (battlefield law).\u00a0 However, the conservatism that I relied on to keep my fear in check as a defense attorney has to be abandoned frequently now. \u00a0 In short, cases are worth more than I thought they were.\u00a0Finally, I see even more clearly now that we all need to double down on civility.\u00a0 Regardless of what side you are on, the truth never damages a just cause.\u00a0 So, let the truth come out.\u00a0 On the defense side, there is a lot of handwringing over \u201cbad facts.\u201d\u00a0 When representing injured people, it doesn\u2019t take long to realize that facts don\u2019t win cases \u2013 stories win cases.\u00a0 Most of the time, the Plaintiff has the better, more compelling story.\u00a0 But oftentimes it makes sense to help the defense tell your client\u2019s story to the people that hold the purse strings.\u00a0 Give them the information that will allow the bean counters to put a face, a family, and a life to a line on a spreadsheet.\u00a0 As for me, I\u2019m happy to be throwing away the Black Hat. – Tim Spangler"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flipping the Script: A Career Defense Attorney Crosses the \u201cV.\u201d and Wishes he had Done it Sooner","item":"https:\/\/www.injury-attorneys.com\/blog\/flipping-the-script\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]