I am not among those who believe lawyers are a lower life form. Au contraire. I’ll concede some lawyers are clearly a lower life form. Rudy Giuliani springs immediately to mind, but even he did some good things before casting his fate with the once and future prez of the U.S.
But most of us enjoy the gifts lawyers laboured hard to win for their clients. Pyjamas that don’t burn like flash paper, steering columns that don’t impale us in a frontal crash, drugs that are generally safe to take appropriately, myriad defences for speeding tickets, among others.
I don’t say this as a recovering lawyer myself. Not wanting to test my specious 1-H draft deferral, along with Richard Nixon’s and Henry Kissinger’s inability to hammer out “peace with honour” with Vietnam, was my primary motivation for enrolling in law school.
But one of the lessons I learned during those three years was this: Lawyers advise; clients decide.
Lawyers are trained to be risk averse. They’re also trained to cast as large a net as possible to spread blame far and wide, away from their client. One of the lessons of Tort 101 was this: When your client is being sued for negligence, find anyone you can with deep—or otherwise—pockets and add them to the case as co-defendants.
In non-legal terms, it’s a lot like trying to blame your sibling or friend, imaginary or otherwise, when your mother discovered the “art” you drew on your bedroom wall with crayons you’d been told repeatedly not to use on the walls. “It’s not my fault! Or if it is, he/she made me do it. They did it first.”
In the adult world, a lawyer will advise a client being sued for negligence to add a third—fourth, fifth, ∞—party to a lawsuit if any argument, regardless of how specious, could be contrived to share the pain and possible monetary judgment.
But remember, lawyers advise, clients decide.
One way to get a glimpse of what hell is like is to get yourself involved, as a plaintiff or defendant, in a wrongful injury lawsuit. Regardless of the outcome, regardless of whether you were the injured or the allegedly negligent, if you’re personally caught in this web, it’s hell.
It’s even worse if you’re really not the party responsible for causing injuries but one of the potential pockets caught in the secondary web cast by defence lawyers.
Lookin’ at you, Liz Barrett.
Liz is a well-known volunteer around Whistler. A photographer, active with AWARE, quick to do the kind of work so prevalent in town—unpaid work. She had been active in the Great Lost Lake Toad Migration and enjoyed putting in the hours to make sure more of the little amphibians got across the trails to see what was on the other side.
To that end, barriers were erected across trails. In a confusing litany, the Resort Municipality of Whistler thought they’d contracted with a third party to do the work but eventually the third party left standing was Liz. Who was paid a couple hundred bucks to do work she’d have probably done for free. Hey, who can’t use a couple hundred bucks?
She might not have paid as close attention as she should have to whatever document the muni had her sign but the long and short of it was someone rode their bike into the barrier and was injured. They sued. The muni’s lawyer(s) discovered a third-party contractor was involved. Well, actually, Liz was involved. They added her to the suit.
Upon discovering she was now potentially on the hook for untold damages, Liz lawyered up. For those who have never had the privilege, lawyering up is an expensive undertaking, regardless of how understanding the lawyer is.
Liz is one of those people we all know. Been here long enough to have had the opportunity to buy a home in Whistler when homes were just laughably expensive, not the sole haunt of the one per cent. Had a mortgage, paid it down. Stitched together life as a freelancer and undoubtedly with Whistler jobs.
Liz was a pocket. Not a deep one. She pissed away her savings spending thousands on a very necessary lawyer to defend her against a very unnecessary claim while the wheels of justice ground slowly.
A chance meeting with someone interested in her photography, around the time her resources were running out, led to a break. A request to a friend with a high-profile firm to have a look. The firm was willing to take Liz’s case pro bono.
If you’re ever sued, pro bono will be the best Latin words you’ve ever heard. And the least likely. It means free. It means the lawyer will work without charging you.
Before you get all pedantic on me, it actually means “for the public good.”
The lawyer and firm who took this work on decided adding Liz to the suit was definitely not in the public good. It was a wrong they decided they had to right.
And so they did.
As though scripted for a Hallmark Christmas movie, the judge hearing the case recently decided the claim against Liz wasn’t in the public good. Wasn’t valid at all. Decided in favour of Liz. But wait; there’s more. Awarded Liz costs. She’ll get the money back she paid to defend this action that wasn’t in the public good.
Guess who will pay?
Lawyers advise; clients decide... and pay.
I don’t think the judge’s decision included an apology from the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) for enabling Liz to glimpse hell for the past several years. I can’t imagine she even wants one. There is a part of me who wishes the judge would have tacked on punitive damages.
But I’d kinda like one. I’d also like to know who at the RMOW thought this was a good idea. Won’t know that either. I can’t see muni hall right now but I’m pretty sure the gates have been barred.
At the end of the day, this will be another faux pas our elected officials will wear. I’d be surprised to find out they made the decision. I’d even be surprised to find out they were aware of the decision.
But someone did. If not council, staff. When the lawyers said, “Hey, look, someone we can go after,” someone at the hall said or thought, “Good idea.” The alternative, of course, is they didn’t think at all. They just blindly accepted the lawyer’s advice—notwithstanding the RMOW has received terrible legal advice over the years—without considering how distasteful it might be to go after someone who has laboured for free over the years to make this a better place to live.
I’m sure the cone of silence will fall on this sad affair. Pity.
