Why defense attorneys must engage with plaintiff-focused CAALA events

As a defense attorney, I am privileged to have been invited to attend and speak at the CAALA conference this year. CAALA is the most respected plaintiff's driven organization with a mission to empower attorneys that are advocating for the "people," - with its focus on supporting plaintiffs' attorneys. Just as importantly, CAALA emphasizes the values of integrity, professionalism, civility and inclusion. These are all values that are important and necessary to the practice of law across all areas of law, both sides of the aisle and all practitioners.

The focus on integrity, professionalism, civility and inclusion are all stated standards and internal goals of our firm. Thus, we believe it is important for invited defense attorneys to attend and share our values at these events. Without professionalism, civility and inclusion, we all fail our clients, each other as professionals, and the justice system. Therefore, open mindedness and collaboration through that mindset, between the plaintiff and defense bar, are crucial to a successful practice of law and for making a better impression within the community.

For these reasons, I think it is important for defense attorneys to speak at plaintiff-focused events and vice versa, for plaintiff attorneys to speak at defense-focused events. The profession as a whole is incredible - we serve a very noble cause. Unfortunately, the general public does not always get to see or perceive that this is a principled and respected profession and that we literally all seek the same thing in a civil dispute - full justice for all parties. The general public does NOT see defense attorneys or plaintiff attorneys differently - they view us as a profession. Thus, it is important that we work together, both informally and formally, to bridge gaps, share ideas and work together to showcase our profession and our sincere global interests in serving all clients in the civil litigation setting. Further, judges have just as an important a role in this setting. Jurors get only a small glimpse of what we do, so it is imperative during voir dire and trials that we show civility on both sides of the aisle and that attorneys and judges work together to showcase the system in the best light.

I will be speaking at CAALA on Friday morning on a subject that 100% lends itself to the need for bipartisan civility and cooperation regarding early resolution of disputes - the subject of, "Effective Handling of Under Insured (UIM) and Uninsured (UM) Losses." We will be talking about pre-demand for arbitrations negotiations, venue, pre-litigations shared information, discovery, experts and early resolution. UM/UIM cases are majorly heard in binding arbitration settings. UM/UIM cases are first party losses. Thus, we will be addressing the defense counsel's duties and obligations in that setting as an advocate for the carrier and the duty to act reasonably in resolving these kinds of cases. Obviously, arbitration is far less formal than a jury trial. Thus, how can both sides take advantage of this setting and try to get an early resolution? We will also be talking about the underlying first party policy limits, force and effect, and leveraging the same. It is defense counsel's desire and intention to push the agenda that we, "as attorneys for justice," work together on these types of cases, and all cases, by sharing all information, from pre-existing injuries, liability, witnesses, evidence and "maybe" even strategy, to see if an early expedited resolution is possible.

When the bench, defense bar, plaintiff's bar work cooperatively, - we can get cases resolved faster and at lower cost, and the general public will perceive the profession in a better light (well I can keep dreaming right!).