Staying Out of Court

It was late Summer of 1995 and Peter Myers was trying his 9th jury trial in front of a San Francisco Superior Court jury.  Representing the plaintiff, a 42 year-old auto mechanic who had been in a motorcycle collision with a car, Mr. Myers was making every effort to convince the jury that his client’s injuries prevented him from working as an auto mechanic at $20 per hour.  Nine members of the jury weren’t buying it.

“Trials are wonderful – until you have to deal with really bad facts,” Myers recalls.  “I was on the wrong side of that case, but I didn’t know it until I saw the video.” 

The “video” to which Mr. Myers refers is what is known in legal parlance as a “subrosa” film.  Subrosa is an old Latin term meaning "under the rose," the rose being an ancient symbol of secrecy or privacy.  In modern terms, it refers to the surreptitious filming or still photographing of a subject who is under investigation, what law enforcement calls surveillance video.  “Difficult-to-explain” videographic images had been procured by the defense two weeks before the trial began.

The truth was revealed on the video, which showed the plaintiff bouncing out of his home with a gait that did not match his strained and measured moves in the doctor’s office, riding his motorcycle around the City, and – worst of all – working on his car!  (Remember that he testified his injuries prevented him from working in his preferred field – as an auto mechanic).  “The damage was done,” Mr. Myers says.  The jury split 9-3 for defense on the basis that whatever injuries plaintiff had suffered in the motorcycle accident several years earlier, those injuries did not cause him to lose any work today.  Three jurors broke with the majority on the basis the collision must have caused a little bit of injury but, it being a civil trial, 9 jurors was enough for a defense verdict.

“I decided that I needed to take a break from representing a bunch of gamblers looking to cash in on the litigation lottery system.  The defense was no better – they hired an orthopedist who had testified 40 out of 42 times against plaintiffs.  His testimony was the same in each case – ‘they’re lying, they’re not hurt, they’re all faking it.’  The main problem in that motorcycle case is that he happened to be right – showing once again that every now and then even a blind pig stumbles across an acorn.”  It was time for a break.

So after a short sabbatical, The Myers Law Firm emerged as a firm with a new vision: deploy the healthy cynicism that came from the trial practice in a manner that helps clients make good decisions at the outset of a crisis (or before one occurs).  This means representing families and individuals who are in trouble or in crisis.  But it also means trying to protect what they had earned and built over their lifetime, and avoiding the casino of the court system.  “The lottery mentality that characterizes litigation analysis and counseling is not an appropriate approach for clients who have already built their portfolios and are seeking predictability and stability.  They have generally done well by understanding and managing risk and reducing outside scrutiny, not by inviting scrutiny and encouraging confrontation by engaging the court process.  So the firm itself is set up and operated differently than many law firms.” 

We focus on protecting and preserving the wealth and the legacies of families facing significant problems or those in crisis – not those who need us, but those who deserve us.  “When we reestablished the San Francisco office in 1997, the door opened to a world where clients could express all of their fears, hopes, dreams and aspirations in total confidence.  Our clients tell us the truth and we do the same with them.  There is no sugar-coating, but at the same time the entire relationship is polite, direct and respectful.”

The assumption is made from the start that clients who retain us are worthy of the highest respect and concern.  We cannot represent everybody and we do not purport to hold ourselves out as the law firm “for the masses.”  This is not like having a Wal-Mart experience.  You cannot “win” our services in raffles and auction prizes.  If you are looking for that sort of experience, I would recommend Quicken Family Lawyer from Intuit.  If you are on the internet (God bless you) looking for a long-term relationship with a good lawyer, as unlikely and improbable as this may seem to both of us, then we should probably talk.  If nothing else, we have that to share.

If you would like more information about us, or if you have a legal matter and would like representation or advice, please call us at (415) 896-1500 or submit an inquiry using our online form.