I don’t know how often you are faced with a defense annuity expert in your serious injury cases. For a long time it was common for the defense to call not only an economist, but an annuity sales person to tell the jury how a life time annuity could be purchased that would generate a significant amount of money each month at a low rate of purchase. It was offered under the guise of “present cash value.” We would file…
In psychology there is a principal known as the “Dunning – Kruger effect.” It refers to the psychological phenomenon which leads people to overestimate their ability because they have failed to grasp how much they really don’t know about the subject. They think they are well-informed and understand when in fact they don’t fully understand. People, lawyers in particular, too quickly believe, that as intelligent people, they have fully grasped a new concept which has been presented to them. Often,…
Throughout a 57-year legal career from which he never fully retired, Francis Hare’s unique approach to his profession left a permanent impact on the system of justice he so faithfully served. Mr. Hare was a nationally known plaintiff’s trial lawyer from Alabama who wrote a book in 1976. The book had a passage on the subject of pain-and-suffering which has been quoted over the years. There are some concepts about arguing pain that are still compelling after all the years…