In 1994, the United States District Court for the District of Vermont adopted an Early Neutral Evaluation program. It required that nearly every civil case on its docket be “evaluated” before being set for trial. I was fortunate to be
Rich Cassidy Law
Our firm represents people, not businesses or institutions. We focus on personal injury litigation and employment law. We represent people who have been injured due to the fault of others and employees in disputes with their employers or former employers.
Why? We want to make our living doing work that is worthwhile. Early in my career, I represented all sides in many kinds of disputes. But I simply didn’t find it satisfying to represent insurance companies and big businesses. It is true that businesses must pay attention to the bottom line. But many companies don’t seem to care about anything else. They just want to resolve claims as cheaply as they can. For them, people’s troubles are just balance sheet issues. Serving that narrow way of seeing the world is not how I want to spend my life.
Injured people really need help. You have medical bills to pay. You have lost wages and earnings. You have been in pain and may still be in pain. You may have disabilities. You may have suffered the loss of a loved one.
Some employers treat their employees well. But many do not. Some employers seem to ignore the fact that hard working, loyal employees depend on their salaries and benefits to provide for their families and themselves.
Justice is not given; it is achieved. Without help from a competent, experienced lawyer, you may get nothing, or whatever pittance the insurance companies or employers choose to give you.
Making it “Write”
I often collaborate with other attorneys. We routinely create documents together. I know what I am looking for in a final product. I share my 30 Rules for Legal Writing with them. You may not agree with all my rules and…
COVID-19 and Jury Trials: “It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over”
Last week I testified before the judiciary Committee of the Vermont House of Representatives on H. 417, a bill that would reduce the size of juries in civil cases in Vermont from 12 to 6 members.
The impetus of the…
Don’t Forget to Educate Your Clients About the Attorney-Client Privilege
In our practice we see lots of new clients. We are particularly sensitive to the attorney-client privilege issues because many of them communicate with us about employment problems. For employees, it often true that just consulting an attorney may have…
When a Client Complains, Be Grateful!
Complaints are Opportunities
I read Lee Rosen’s email newsletter, Friday File. It’s a great place for practical advice on how to run a law practice. You can subscribe here.
In a recent edition, Lee described a traumatic experience with his…
Happy Thanksgiving!
November No sun — no moon! No morn — no noon — No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day. No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No comfortable feel in any member — No shade, no…
Update: How do we Resume Civil Jury Trials in Vermont
Here is more on that federal criminal trial described in my September 28, 2020 Post: How do we Resume Jury Trials in Vermont It’s based on remarks made by Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford today at a Federal…
Remembering the Honorable Robert W. Larrow
Forty-Two Years Ago
When I awoke last Friday morning, I realized that it was the 42nd anniversary of my first full day of work as a lawyer. I was not yet admitted to the bar, but as a fledgling judicial…
How do we Resume Civil Jury Trials in the Vermont Courts?
The Justice System is Struggling to Adapt to the COVID – 19 Pandemic
Here we sit in the seventh month of the COVID–19 pandemic. When will it end? No one knows. Optimists thought that it would end with warm weather.…
Think you Know all There is to Know About Negotiating? Think Again!
If there is one thing that almost
all lawyers do, it is negotiate. Business lawyers do it. Litigators do it do
it. Real estate lawyers do it. I suspect that even patent lawyers do it.
Most of us think we…