HIRING A GREEDY LAWYER . . . In a post titled "In Defense of Greed," the Greedy Trial Lawyer argues that greed is good--

Have you ever thought about why most people seek the services of a greedy trial lawyer when they have been injured? Why is it that someone who would normally not hire a greedy accountant or a greedy doctor would prefer greediness in a personal injury lawyer?

. . .

[A] greedy trial lawyer ultimately works hardest for the largest recovery. The greater the award or settlement, the greater the fee. And, the greater the net recovery to the injured victim.

The argument is designed to be provocative, not persuasive. It doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. It's a given that the system works better when a lawyer's financial interests are aligned with those of his client. But a lawyer doesn't have to be "greedy" for this to happen. Besides, you know what they say about greed: Pigs get fat but hogs get slaughtered. I've seen it happen a time or two, and it's not a pretty thing.

The idea isn't practical either. When you're considering lawyers to hire, how do you recognize the greedy ones? Maybe the lawyer you admire because of his Rolex and his yacht became bored with the business after he acquired his awesome jet. See what I mean? Although it's easy to imagine a greedy lawyer in the abstract, it's hard to actually spot one in the wild.

Cf. Types of Lawyers #13: The Stereotypical Lawyer.

Comments

[Aaron]

Your post reminds me of the experience of a not-so-greedy trial lawyer. He had a client who had a personal injury claim against a government agency, and was facing a viable governmental immunity defense. The lawyer nonetheless obtained a very healthy six figure settlement offer, which he described to the client. The client thought seven figures would be more reasonable. The lawyer suggested that he ask a couple of other personal injury lawyers if it was a good offer. The client followed that advice, one of those lawyers poached the case, and within a couple of months they lost a summary disposition motion on the issue based on the governmental immunity defense.