I was watching the movie Flash of Genius the other day – Greg Kinnear plays college professor and part-time inventor, Robert Kearns, who invents the intermittent windshield wiper for cars. Long story short, Ford steals his invention, he sues but his lawyers quit because he won’t accept a settlement offer, and he decides to go ahead and represent himself against Ford Motor Company. I am not sure exactly how he gets it accomplished, and he ends up losing his sanity, then his wife and family, and ends up with a garage full of paperwork. But, in the end, he WINS! The jury finds against Ford Motor Company and awards him more than $10 million. And after that, Chrysler settles with him for more than $18 million. True story. Greg Kinnear talks about Flash of Genius
This was a remarkable outcome. The reason that he continued to pursue this complex patent case on his own was because of the principle. For him, it was not about the money. The reason he did not accept fairly large settlement offers was because they did not come with an admission of “guilt” or “responsibility” from Ford (one of the biggest reasons for settlement offers is the confidentiality and no admission of guilt).
Representing yourself in court is not a wise course of action. The system is simply not designed for the non-lawyer. You have every right to do it, even in criminal court, but it’s never pretty. We have all seen video of criminals acting as their own lawyer (remember the Long Island train shooter, Colin Ferguson?). Judges don’t like it, the lawyers on the other side will try every nasty trick in the book to trip you up, and in front of a jury it can get pretty dicy when you have to put yourself up on the stand and question yourself, and register objections against the other side while they are questioning you.
In a serious criminal case, if you are given permission to be your own attorney, you are usually appointed “stand-by counsel.” This is a lawyer that is prepared to step in and take over if you are really in a jam, but they are usually not that happy about the job they have been given…they most certainly spend a lot of time sitting on their hands so they don’t jump up in court while the self-represented bumbles along.
If you represent yourself in a civil case, as did Robert Kearns against Ford, it will cost you a fortune and it could be next to impossible to keep up with the avalanche of paper that the other side is going to send your way. It turns out that lawyers are a necessary evil when there is a disagreement that can only be resolved in a courtroom. They know the secret handshake and they are not sharing.
As always, I urge you to be an active participant in your litigation. Don’t be a passive bystander. It is nice to hand over some of the stress of litigation to an attorney, but keep your eye on what is going on. Stay informed. Don’t let the fees get out of hand. Insist on status reports and monthly billing statements. Set limits on expenses and require pre-approval on large amounts.
Don’t drown in a shower of stupidity – show your flash of genius – you can’t sue yourself for malpractice!
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If I could sue myself for legal malpractice, and I had LM Insurance, I would put the insurance carrier out of business due to draining of their monetary reserve for claims.
Unfortunately, it was without choice that I was forced to represent myself, pro se, against the KING OF SLUGs (Swindling Lawyers of Unethical Greed), due to my ex’s egregious and unlawful hiding of MY assets. **@(!)#* holds running title for KOS (King of SLUGs) and is featured on jaablog.info. This guy is so unethical, deceitful and greedy that HIS OWN EX-WIFE contacted after I publicized experience with him (Transworld News – When Bad Lawyers Happen To Good People). Links to BAD Lawyers (SLUGs) can be found on jaablog.info. I was told that, in order to avoid defamation actions against me, I must include the following statement: The statements herein are expressed as an Opinion of a citizen who was involved in a case with the KOS. His King title was the author’s nomination and personal experience.
I feel your pain – sorry I had to edit out the “SLUGs” name – but I see you have a place to vent at jaablog.info and I will leave it to others to check out. Sometimes there is no alternative to representing yourself in order to avoid someone just taking your assets without cause or by default. It’s a scary and unfortunate place in which to find oneself.
nice post. thanks.
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
Hi,
I am thinking about suing my homeowners association without a lawyer.
I think the case would end at the motions phase.
The only thing I worry about is some obtuse judge who would side with the HOA. I have heard that this is the rule, not the exception.
Do you have any experience with HOAs? I have researched them nationwide and can not believe how abusive and 3rd worldish they are!
Thanks in advance for any information you may share!
Mike
As you know, I am not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice. You also do not provide any information about your personal background or experience. While I am not always a big fan of lawyers and frequently find their tactics or motives to be suspect, they do serve a purpose. Homeowners associations are difficult beasts as well. They probably have legal counsel on retainer, so you would not be in court against the jerk that runs the HOA, you’d be up against a lawyer getting paid by the hour with your HOA dues. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to at least consult with an attorney who has experience with HOA’s to see if you really have a case that is worth your time and aggravation. Good luck either way – I don’t envy someone in a dispute with their HOA!
By all means if you can get a lawyer you should. Sometimes though, the only way they will ever be sued or exposed is to do it yourself unfortunately. This is especially true if you’re a female. Women are a lot more likely to fall victim because they’re not as afraid of you. and the good ol’ boys make it especially hard on women by putting the word out you’re “crazy”. With the misogyny and double standard in the south, that is nearly insurmountable when you had a smaller case to begin with, and CHANCES ARE you DID or they would have handled it properly to begin with!. Whose gonna screw up a lucrative case?! Lawyers who sue lawyers are few and far between as it is but the big malpractice lawyers with the necessary resources are like rock stars who don’t even publish a phone number. You fill out the email form and when they find out the underlying case was less than $300, 000, you never hear back no matter how egregious it may have been. I’ve heard of a few who will take a case for as little as $100,000, but that’s only when it’s a very simple case of negligence per se or something easily as proven and inexpensive. Clients with cases less than that are the ones who need the protection of the Bar because there is no incentive for another attorney to take the case and these sleaze balls KNOW it going in. This is made especially more burdensome because he doesn’t DO Discovery in the underlying case and then you are left having to try to backtrack and try two entire cases in one, adding to the strain and expense.
I certainly hear you and you have clearly had a string of bad experiences. Most of your observations are correct, albeit emotionally charged! I would be very careful about posting anything other than actual court documents on the Internet. It is best not to do things that could subject you to possible criminal or civil claims – it can end up making a bad situation even worse. Tape recordings are great, but check your local state laws about taping conversations without notice or permission. It is easy to be controlled by your own anger and frustration in these circumstances, but there does come a time when it serves your own psyche best to put it behind you. Yes, they will have to notify their malpractice insurance carrier if you sue them; that is, if they carry malpractice insurance. I have found that a simple letter to the attorney stating that they need to put their carrier on notice of a possible claim can work wonders, too. Hope your situation gets resolved – just don’t burn yourself out fighting the fight – live to fight another day.