What score? That’s how many cases you won. How many notches on the gun you’ve racked up. You see, people think that we’re baseball players and they want to know if we’re Barry Bonds (A Rod?) or some utility outfielder in the minors. Just check the back of our baseball cards for our stats and you’ll know whether we’re any good, right?
Well, this upset Norm a bit, as well it should. This is not a sporting event, and we’re not players out there in a fair game. We don’t mind this fact, since it’s what we signed up for, but we really hate having to explain ourselves over and over.
Not long ago a potential client asked me my won-loss record. I told him, truthfully, that I had no idea. I know I’ve tried more than 100 cases, but I do not recall many verdicts. Of those I recall, some surprised me. I’ve won cases I thought I would lose, and I have lost cases I expected to win. I can’t promise any client that a won-loss record will shed any light on the outcome of his or her case. Each case is different. Sometimes a mountain of facts can yield only a valley of despair. All a client can and should expect is dedication and hard work.
Potential clients ask questions like this all the time. You can’t blame them for wanting something firm to grasp, as their lives are on the line and they want the greatest assurance possible that they are making the right choice, not to mention that you’re worth what you’re asking. How better than to get the box scores?
But Norm (as usual) is right. We don’t play on a level field. Some cases are relatively easy, some are very difficult. Some go better than expected and others go worse. Some of us take on the most serious cases while others just plead ’em out as soon as the money runs dry.
If you want to know whether the lawyer is any good, there are two questions to ask yourself. Does he know what he’s doing and will he fight for me to the end. Other than that, the score card means nothing. You’re hiring a lawyer for his or her “dedication and hard work,” as Norm says, and I would add his or her skills. That’s what we have to offer. If a lawyer can remember his score, chances are that he hasn’t been around long enough to remember or he’s just full of baloney. Hey, you wouldn’t know if it was true anyway.
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Zero. I haven’t won a damn thing yet. Not even a bond motion.
I have often wondered whether PDs have to put up with the same questions that private lawyers get. I know you have to put up with plenty of crap that we don’t get. But since the client isn’t paying and doesn’t get to pick his PD, do they expect you to prove your worthiness to their satisfaction?
Ironically, I suppose that many clients view the “worth” of a PD to be commensurate with the “price” they have to pay. Further proof that no good deed goes unpunished.
Sadly, just today I was asked to, essentially, provide my resume. Our win-loss record will be far worse than you privates, since we can’t choose our clients and often we get really bad cases.
That is sad, but true. You are the defender of last resort, and the clients for whom you sacrifice don’t even appreciate you.
But we do.
I feel all warm and fuzzy.