Chris Parks discusses the misconception about needing an overly aggressive 'junkyard dog' lawyer and highlights the importance of professionalism and ethics in legal representation. He explains why ethical behavior and factual arguments are crucial for a successful case, ensuring your lawyer fights for you the right way.
Is Your Lawyer Mean Enough?
You know, everybody wants a lawyer who's going to fight for them—an absolute junkyard dog or shark. People love that image, right? But what if your lawyer writes a letter to someone who wronged you—not necessarily in an accident case—and starts off by calling this person every name in the book? Then they say something like, "If you keep this up and don’t pay my client a lot of money, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to report you to your school alumni association so you can’t go to any more alumni functions at CU football games. Or I’m going to report you to the police, and they’re going to come after you because this is fraud or felonious conduct."
Wouldn’t you love it if your lawyer was that kind of junkyard dog who would fight for you like that? Well, there’s a big problem with that approach. The problem is that lawyers have to be professional. They don’t get to call people names just for the fun of it. They don’t get to threaten to send people to prison for something that isn’t being investigated by the police.
Lawyers have to act ethically. Their job, in essence, is to present the facts: "Here’s what happened. You’ve wronged my client. You owe money or some form of recompense to them. This is what we’re demanding you do." That’s pretty much it.
So, if your lawyer isn’t acting like an inappropriate junkyard dog, maybe you’ve got the right lawyer after all.