Legal Warrior Gone

The unexpected death of Dunlap trial lawyer, Stephen T. Greer a few weeks ago, has created a void in the ranks of respected trial lawyers who are widely respected by the local community for their ability and ethical standards.

The son of the late and equally respected attorney and judge, Thomas A. Greer, Steve created his own reputation of being a talented lawyer whose death came too soon.  His obituary in the Dunlap news on August 8, 2019, by Karen House described just a portion of his unique life dedicated to his family, community, and the legal profession and the link is attached to this article.

 Steve fought vigorously to protect the rights of his clients and to preserve the proper image of a plaintiff lawyer in civil cases and representing defendants in criminal cases. 

Woe be the big city lawyer that ventured into the Sequatchie Valley where Steve or Tommy Austin’s law firms were on the other side of a jury case.  

He was a legal warrior!

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/grundycountyherald/obituary.aspx?n=stephen-thomas-greer&pid=193650601&fhid=26462

Is This Deceptive Advertising?

My technician sent the below post on Facebook allegedly written by one of the biggest spending lawyer advertisers in the Chattanooga market.  Even this may pass the current expansion of the original ruling in the 1977 Bates decision but it appears to blatantly violate the Tennessee Supreme Court decision of State v. Middlebrooks 995 S.W. 2d 550 (1999), and the opinion by late Justice Riley Anderson banning Biblical references in criminal cases which is likewise applicable in civil cases. 

“We have condemned Biblical and scripture reference in a prosecutors (plaintiffs?) closing remarks so frequently that it is difficult not to conclude that the remarks in this case were made either with blatant disregard for our decision or a level of astonishing ignorance of the state of the law in this regard.”

Is this post proper for injection into our legal system or another deceptive tactic attempting to secure more cases by citing the Bible? 

Facebook Post By Local Lawyer Advertiser 

“Any lawyer who has tried a jury case against me knows that in my closing statements, I thank the jury then read the Parable of the Good Samaritan from my orange Bible. The insurance company lawyers squirm in their seats, unsure of what to do. Do they object to the use of a Holy Bible in the courtroom? Of course not, we used the Bible to swear in each witness.

Our Master teaches us that all of us are neighbors, and we should be proactive in helping others, like the example Jesus gives from His lips. The Good Samaritan did not avoid helping the injured man, like the priest or a Levite did, but “bandaged his wounds...put the man on his donkey and took him to an inn and took care of him”.

I am now the one squirming when I see how we are treating our neighbors. Brothers and sisters, how do we square our Master’s teachings with what is happening in this country? Do we really think we are behaving like we were taught to behave when Jesus was asked (by a snarky lawyer of course) “Who is my neighbor?”

Do we really believe Jesus was talking just about people born in the USA?

Luke 10:25-37” 

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

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Pat Sajak and Vanna White in Chattanooga?

There is a rumor going around that the above host and hostess of the long running popular television gameshow Wheel of Fortune may be coming to Chattanooga to attempt to boost the ratings of the alleged “Best Law Firm” candidates and to distribute some cash and other prizes to those who will come to their office and spin their promotional wheel advocating their support for the recently enacted Hands Free Bill in the Tennessee General Assembly allegedly to save lives in addition to raising additional funds for the States Treasury and also to cast a vote for the “Best of the Best” campaign of the Chattanooga Times.

         Perhaps with the Divine Intervention mentioned in Proverbs 31:8 of “Speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves” and the alleged expertise of the local self-promoters in the legal field of personal injury there will be less carnage on the highways and byways of Tennessee.

         Maybe Pat and Vanna should stay in Los Angeles and not come to Chattanooga to help distribute cash, law firm t-shirts, etc. on the spinning wheel and also cast a vote for the “Best of the Best” campaign?

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

Can Lawyers Buy A Reputation?

Sure they can.  Just respond to any of the 1,200 estimated “Best of              “ categories that they receive every few days where they pay a fee of anywhere from $395.00-$1,000.00, get their beautiful glass desk icon, put the organizations self-serving badge on their website and then possibly engage in “deceptive advertising” by overstating your legal expertise and experience! 

            That is the way it is done these days.  With limited opportunities to build a legitimate reputation because of the lack of law and court rules governing the control over legal advertising, the proliferation of advertising on radio, television, billboards, and the internet has made it easy for lawyers to self-promote beyond their abilities to fully and adequately represent clients.  

            The additional influx of lawyers each year, the almost mandatory use of mediation, and the Tennessee General Assembly’s enactment of anti-plaintiff legislation in medical malpractice and workers compensation cases are just a few factors that adversely affect the practice of law.

            Increased costs of litigation and office staff also contribute to the pressure to settle cases and decrease opportunities to try many cases.

            As a result some lawyers overstate their backgrounds and accomplishments that either are deceptive or not what is presented to the public through the media.

            Please talk to several attorneys before you select someone to handle any legal matter that is important to you.  

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

Couch Sitters Spouse

One of the late hours solicitors in the bankruptcy area also has a spouse who runs a legal ad on the bottom of the front page of the Hamilton County Herald, the weekly newspaper that is primarily distributed to members of the Chattanooga legal and real estate communities.  No one should claim that her ad for attorney services is “deceptive” as being in violation of the 1977 United States Supreme Court decision of Bates that took the handcuffs off of lawyers to allow simple and refined lawyer ads to be disseminated to the public.

Valerie Epstein’s ad simply shows her professional appearing photo, where to find her with a complete Chattanooga address including her local telephone number and website.  She lists five areas of the law where she expresses her practice preferences, without untruthfully overstating her ability with a silly gimmick about her presentation of clients in Tennessee and Georgia since 1989 and the catchy but correct statement that “The Right Lawyer Does Make a Difference.”

While her spouse is staying up all night soliciting cases on television she is probably sleeping soundly in order to be fresh, alert and better able to represent her clients in the morning.

The Silly Blog believes that her type of lawyer ad is what the United States Supreme Court meant when it did not strictly limit lawyer advertising in 1977.

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

Tom Cruise’s Attorney Oath Under Rules 6 and 7 of the Tennessee Supreme Court

I recently saw a re-run of John Grisham’s early novel, The Firm, on HBO, starring Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, and others. The traditional oath taken by new admittees to the legal community in Tennessee was impressive and lengthy. For some reason it did not appear to be the same oath that I took in September, 1966. 

I decided to look up what the present oath given to new attorneys under rules 6 and 7 of the rules of the Tennessee Supreme court contains, hoping that there might be some favorable language to possibly curtail the use of deceptive legal advertising being forced upon the public by only a few law firms out of nearly the close to 20,000 attorneys now licensed to practice in Tennessee. Unfortunately, the following Oath as amended on December 21, 2015, to be effective January 1, 2106 is not of much help in any effort in controlling legal advertising. 

Rule 6 Admission of Attorney says:

Each applicant for admission shall take the following oath:

“I, ___________, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the constitution of the United States of America and the State of Tennessee, and that I will truly and honestly demean myself in the practice of my profession to the best of my skill and abilities, so help me God!”

Nothing is included that requires new admittees to the Bar to pledge loyalty to our clients which should be the prime objective of our legal system.

A pledge or oath is only as good as the integrity of the individuals that swear to its contents.

Perhaps Rules 6 and 7 cover the subject with their many parts, but it seems to me that in this day of virtually uncontrolled legal advertising, a specific affirmation of putting our client’s interests at the onset of one entering the legal field would be appropriate and required. 

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

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Pick a Rubber Duck and Get a Lawyer!

Remember the ole days when we went to the County Fair and bought the right to select a yellow rubber duck from the floating water pond to see what prize was listed on the bottom?

            A recent television spot portrays one of the areas high spending bankruptcy lawyers touting his talents before a group of rubber ducks suggesting “he can help you get your ducks in a row” as part of his solicitation campaign.  

            Maybe he should also select a catchy slogan such as “Gotta Get Gary,” “It’s just that easy,” “We’ve got an office somewhere on the North Shore,” or “Proverbs 31:8.”

            How about “To save a buck, buy a rubber duck before you get ­_ _ _ _ _ _.”  (out of luck)

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

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Another Ghoulish Advertising Scheme?

We recently received another golden opportunity “to get hundreds of wrongful death and serious personal injury cases from my county and local community on an exclusive basis”. Mr. John Presley, vice president of Internet Technologies out of Delray Beach, Florida, made the exclusive offer by e-mail.

My curiosity of course became aroused when he further stated that “his company (?) had delivered hundreds of cases to our sponsored law firms in their targeted markets on an exclusive basis last year!!!”  However, my chance to be part of this great team began to wane when he exchanged that I would get the cases “directly on an exclusive basis” because they are the world’s largest funeral network.

I was further turned off when he stated “we put your law firm in front of a victim’s family, at the exact time that they need your help. I was also informed that “my market had not yet been sold and the cost is minimal and the results are outstanding.”

Unfortunately the embarrassment that the local legal community underwent during the solicitation scandal in the Woodmore school cases a couple of years ago has not deterred a Florida company from another scheme to prey on the public. Do you think this is what Justice Blackmon had in mind in his 1977 opinion?

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

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The Silly Blog Doesn’t Stand Alone

I normally check the TruthinLawyerAdvertisingBlog.com on a regular basis to see if my latest blog article on the subject of lawyer advertising has made it online.

Google gets me to the list and I was pleasantly surprised that my wanderings and offensive comments were still at the top of the list although we have not paid to be there. 

I decided to scroll down and found some interesting facts about the topic of lawyers advertising. 

I was surprised to find that a few lawyers have addressed the subject but in a slightly different manner than I have done.

Attorney Ben Glass of Fairfax, Virginia has produced a very powerful set of publications that address many of the things that he feels are inaccurate and provides incorrect information to persons seeking a personal injury lawyer. He has granted me permission to use that material in the Silly Blog and I will selectively do so. Ben does have a “of counsel relationship” in four other Virginia locations. He can be found at www.BenGlasslaw.com and his Truth in Lawyer Advertising book is worth reading and hopefully give some credence to this Silly Blog in Chattanooga.

One area where we have a slight difference of opinion is Avvo.com. The last edition of Ben’s book is from 2012 and it does not address any of the problems that Avvo has had in New York and other jurisdiction about their referral methods. 

In the Criminal Law field attorney Christopher Morales of San Francisco, California has a YouTube presentation which describes how he feels clients should select an attorney but once again he is not up to date on Avvo and also overemphasizes the importance of Board Certification. I respectfully submit that being Board Certified is not that important because most of the leading criminal lawyers in the United State are not certified. In last year’s list, only one (1) lawyer in approximately 1,500 lawyers in Chattanooga is Board Certified in criminal law.

The Class Action Tracker archive (www.truthinadvertising.org/category/class-action-tracker/) lists information on false or deceptive advertising class-action lawsuits filed around the country.

Although we are at the top of the listing for “truth in lawyer advertising” someone must not like this Silly Blog and have made the statement that “truth in lawyer advertising has the lowest Google pages rank and bad results in terms of Yandex topical relational index…” We found that truthinlawyeradvertising.com is poorly “socialized in respect to any social networks…is quite a safe domain with our visitor reviews.”

I do not know what that means, but over 10,000 readers seem to enjoy the blog and we will continue to discuss valid and ethical attorney ads versus “deceptive ones.”

I am told that Yandex is the Russian equivalent of Google in that country so maybe Putin is reading the article in addition to President Trump’s Tweets.

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

One More Lone Voice in the Wilderness

The Chattanooga Times Free Press has a place on its editorial page where identified readers can submit their opinions on any topic not to exceed 200 words.

In the June 6, 2019 edition, a citizen in the Brainerd area expressed the following view about attorney advertising:

“As I enter in my early ‘80’s, I never thought I would die from being annoyed to death by back-to-back lawyer commercials on TV.  If they are so insecure about attracting clients that they have to spend thousands (millions) to advertise, I cannot help from wondering how competent they are.  Other firms have successful practices without much advertising.  I can remember when it was unlawful for professionals to advertise.  When it was lawful, it was considered unethical.  Oh, for the good old days”.

Thank you, Mr. J.W.   Don Quixote Summers is proud to have you as a member of the one-sided crusade to at least remove “deceptive” practices from the lawyer ads.

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

The No-Doze Lawyers

Recently a couple of entrepreneurs in the lawyer advertising field expressed their intentions to give twenty-four hour legal services.  

One of our “Gotta Get Guys” (Not Jerry) invited the injured to call him at any time during the twenty-four hours of the day as they were always on call to make certain that “Justice never sleeps.  Anyone needing a lawyer who didn’t come at regular office hours can always get a response.”  

Whether the phone would be answered by a recorded message, answering service, or a foreign voice from the Far East was not made clear but assurances were made that they were there twenty four hours a day with a forty eight hour guarantee..  (He didn’t mention whether there would be an exclusion for Sunday or Wednesday night church services.)  May I suggest that you specifically ask for the Late Night Litigator and that you will not talk to anyone else.  Since they are up late worrying about your potential case, I’m certain that they won’t feel bothered. 

If you are up after midnight you can also engage in a conversation with one of the Chattanooga areas bankruptcy specialists as he lounges on his couch in the den waiting anxiously for your call. If you are not a night owl look for his forty-eight hour guarantee to get you out of debt on the back of a roving Carta bus traveling on the highways and byways of the Scenic (Gig) City, formerly known as the Dynamo of Dixie (Can I still say that?).

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

Do We Advertise?

Of course we do! We just try to do it the old fashioned way of satisfied clients, good results, and referrals from other lawyers, plus non-deceptive advertising in today’s legal market.

            Our firm has an up-to-date website that hopefully tells about our accomplishments, awards, news of the firm, and involvement in the various activities in the community. We try to deliver helpful and accurate information in accordance with the requirements laid down by the United States Supreme Court decision of Bates v. Arizona, in 1978 when it authorized lawyer advertising on a limited and non-deceptive basis. Unfortunately, it has not been controlled and properly governed by local and state agencies that supervise the radio, television, and billboard mediums, etc.

            Until the courts overturns or tightens regulations pertaining to lawyer advertising, the public will continue to be exposed to such glitzy and excessive claims of competence by the small number of law firms that are spending large sums of money to tout their talents.

            One of our earlier blog articles (August 2017) lists partial amounts spent on lawyer advertising during one year in the Chattanooga market by the leading self-promotion firms. At that time, a billion dollar market had been created and it has notably doubled since 2016.

He (She) Got Me 1 Million Dollars!

This flashing television or billboard announcement on many lawyer ads in the media may be accurate but is often incorrect as to the value of the case, necessary legal ability and collectability of the claimed sum of recovery.

            This bells and whistles form of advertising in primarily personal injury (PI) solicitations does not tell the viewer that any settlement received in a PI case is based on three primary factors: (this is elementary even on the Board Certification test claimed by some advertisers as making them super qualified to handle your case)   

1.     Causation—Who or what caused the accident and what is the percentage of fault attributed to either the plaintiff of defendant?  (this simply means whether only one party (P or D) or both caused the unfortunate event and injury)

2.     Injuries—A wrongful death case obviously is worth more than a broken toe.

3.     Collectability—A tractor trailer company with a minimum federally required liability policy of $750,000 to $1,000,000 is a better target for a big recovery than a state imposed minimum of $25,000-$50,000.

            These are the three basic principles of recovery in personal injury law.  Throw in the actual (trial) record of the attorneys, willingness to spend investigation funds and totally prepare the cases, and reputation of the law firm or lawyer are just a few other factors to be carefully considered before selecting a lawyer.

            To paraphrase the late Social Security lawyer, Dale Buchanan—“After all isn’t it your money!”

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

HAVE A HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

Lawyers of Distinction— Did Zippy Get Selected?

In the January 29, 2018, edition of the Silly Blog I wrote an article about the extensive research that goes into the selection methods used by the Lawyers of Distinction to select the most prominent member of the legal profession into its prestigious organization.

            I also made reference to an entry by Mockingbird Marketing wherein they make reference to an anonymous nomination by a Seattle Washington attorney of their beloved canine “Lucy Davis” to be selected into the “Top 10% of Outstanding Attorneys” in that area and Lucy was quickly accepted for membership.

            Subsequent nominated members for Lawyers of Distinction include deceased attorneys, law students, and a chicken named Zippy DeShickeen, etc.

            Mockingbird Marketing was threatened with a lawsuit by Lawyers of Distinction alleging that they were considering a “cease and desist” order against Mockingbird but to our knowledge their bluff was called and no action has been filed.

            Before you hire an attorney research Lawyers of Distinction and check out all of the articles about another group seeking only the most prominent and qualified lawyers.

            The present list of lawyers may be found at “Lawyers of Distinction Twitter Feed.”

            P.S. I got my 2019 invitation to join but unfortunately did not reply by the June 5, 2019 deadline.

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!

More Dollars for Docs

In a main article The Silly Blog (March 9, 2018), we reported the amount of money received by treating physicians in Tennessee from Big Pharma (pharmaceutical companies) and manufacturers of medical devices for the years 2013-2014. It also was reported that a total of 1,074 physicians in Hamilton County, Tennessee and 15,627 across the State of Tennessee received $172,000,000.00 in additional sums of money from the same sources.

         A recent article released by the Social Security Administration did an analysis of the amount of time each physician spent treating or examining and treating each patient at Veterans Administration Hospitals and Clinics.

         The report was based on the statistics of the overworked and understaffed medical staff of the Veteran’s Administration (VA) physicians who were able to spend a minimum amount of time to earn a significant amount of money for these services. The report of the amount of average time spent on each patient was criticized by two articles in the Nashville Tennessean published on January 6, 2019 and January 12, 2019 by Anita Wadhwani and Mike Reicher styled “How Some Tennessee Doctors Earn Big Money Denying Disability Claims.”

         The article mentions several areas in the treatment of veterans that are alarming; (1) in length  of time spent on each patient; (2) high percentage of denials; (3) doctors with felony criminal records treating veterans; and (4) amount of compensation received by the treating doctors during the years between January, 2013 and July, 2018.

         If accurate, it is sad testimony as to how our military heroes are being treated by the government.

         It is particularly noteworthy that “Tennessee has among the highest denial rates for disability applicants in the nation, rejecting 72% of all claims in 2017. The national average for denials was 66%.”

Surely America can do better than this.

John Grisham On Lawyer Advertising

Louis Grizzard (February 20, 2019 blog article) is not the only author commenting on lawyer advertising. John Grisham, renowned author of more than thirty (30) best sellers weaves this subject into one of his latest books dealing with the legal and judicial systems, The Rooster Bar (Dell Mass Market Edition, 2018).

Most attorneys that read his publications are aware of his ability as a trial lawyer and authority who can turn an actual case into a fictionalized version that grabs on and holds the reader’s interest to the end.

In The Rooster Bar, he addresses legal advertising in a way that is very similar to some of the tactics used in Tennessee and Hamilton County:

         “The king of D.C. billboards was a colorful tort lawyer named Rusty Savage. His jingle was ‘Trusting Rusty’, and it was impossible to drive along the Beltway without being confronted with his smiling face exhorting those who’d suffered all manner of physical trauma but were doing swell because they had wisely picked up the phone and called 1-800-Trust-Me.”

         Sound familiar? Buy the paperback and enjoy Grisham! Conversion of facts about the lawyers world into fiction are also subject to discussion on caps on damages, expert medical witnesses, bridge loans to cover medical expenses, attorney fees, and records of settlements by insurance companies and defense lawyers (not trial, and “boasts of no fears of the plaintiff’s lawyers”, etc.)

         Other familiar advertising tactics make the book enjoyable to read but also uncovers “deceptive advertising” used even in fiction.

         John Grisham has written another easy reading but informative fictional novel.

J.D. Lee—Trial Lawyer Extraordinaire

A recent Facebook entry from Sid Gilreath included a photo of him with ninety year old courtroom warrior, J.D. Lee of Madisonville on his birthday at his residence.

         J.D. was one of the earliest presidents of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, Tennessee’s only president of the American Trial Lawyers Association, unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate, and recognized as one of America’s premier trial lawyers.

         Before I-75 was built U.S. Highway 411 was known as “Bloody 411,” a narrow two lane road that ran through J.D.’s home base of Madisonville and resulted in many automobile and tractor-trailer wrecks that J.D. acquired as clients.

         He grew a reputation as a feared and highly competent trial lawyer who was always willing to share his knowledge and expertise with young and old lawyers.

         When president of ATLA he travelled across the country in his twin engine Beechcraft Baron to speak at state and national seminars and to stand up and fight for the rights of injured and deceased parties and their families.

         He was respected by plaintiff’s attorneys and feared by insurance defense lawyers.  He was successful and made his reputation the old respected way----he earned it!

I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!