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Lawyers in Need of
a Subscription
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Business New Haven
8/10/98
By: BNH
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As BNH readers may recall, attorney and regular contributor Judy Gedges has advised about the dangers of oral contracts (see “You Don't Say,” June 30, 1997). In Perkins & Mario v. Annunziata, the Connecticut Supreme Court made the practice of oral contingency fee arrangements (in which the attorney gets a set percentage of the money received by his client) unenforceable as a matter of public policy. While contingency fees are most often used in negligence cases, all lawyers - and clients - should take note of this ruling.
Toward a Better-Educated Press
Yale Law School will host five working journalists in its Fellowships in Law for Journalists program during the 1998-99 academic year. The program provides mid-career journalists - this year from such diverse backgrounds as the Hartford Courant to the Cambodia Daily - with an opportunity to step back from the pressure of deadlines to learn about the law in depth. Participants receive a stipend and, under certain circumstances, full-tuition grants and, upon completion, a master of studies in law degree.
Good Hands - in
Your Wallet?
New London lawyer Robert I. Reardon Jr., immediate past president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA), recently brought a state class-action lawsuit in New London Superior Court against Allstate, Connecticut's largest auto insurer. At issue is Allstate's practice of actively yet subtly encouraging folks, injured as a result of an Allstate-related accident, to settle the claim without a lawyer. The suit alleges in part that the two named plaintiffs and others similarly situated are injured a second time when they are falsely led to believe that Allstate is acting in the individual's interest, and that is not to their advantage to hire their own attorney. According to the suit, however, this is only in Allstate's interests, since those represented by counsel statistically get significantly higher settlements. Unfortunately for Allstate, the company's own training literature seems to support this allegation: According to one published report, it contains a chart stating that “Represented Claims Settle for 2-3 Times More than Unrepresented Claims.” Now, what are those hands doing?
Can't Blame a Jury
for This One
According to plaintiff's attorney Gregory E. O'Brien of Cheshire's Moore, O'Brien, Jacques & Yelenak, a Waterbury Superior Court judge awarded his client $385,000 plus offer-of-judgment interest in the amount of $43,000 in the case of Bonnie Lee Legassey v. Felix Merante. In 1994, Legassey sustained injuries to her right leg, hip and shoulder, as well as her neck and lower back, from a fall while employed as a visiting I.V. registered nurse. Prior to the three day non-jury trial, the defendant's highest settlement offer had been $125,000, while the plaintiff's offer of judgment one year before trial was $275,000. Legassy is required to reimburse her employer close to $90,000 for workers compensation benefits paid to her during litigation.
CTLA Annual Awards
At its annual meeting this summer, CTLA 1998 awards went to the following: Judicial Award to Hon.. Robert L. Holzberg, Superior Court Judge in Middletown; Excellence in Environmental Law Award to Kristin M. Gadaroski; Excellence in Worker's Compensation Law Award to Erika Ellison; and a Lifetime Achievement Award to attorney T. Paul Tremont.
Homegrown Hero
Hamden native Scott E. Sullivan has been named the National 1997 Outstanding Law Student of the Year by the editors of Who's Who: American Law Students. Sullivan, a senior at the UConn School of Law, was selected because of his extensive involvement both on and off-campus. For example, he is president of the Latino Law Students Association, and a mentor, tutor and recruiter for Hartford Career Beginnings, an educational initiative for Hartford high school students which links higher education, public schools, parents, businesses and community volunteers. The recognition includes a cash scholarship plus dedication of 17th edition of Who's Who.
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