Hiring a Lawyer

April 30, 2019

Would You Hire a Lawyer Who Had Been Convicted of Murder?

This was essentially the headline of a recent New York Times article. As a 19-year-old, the subject of the article had flown into a rage and killed a man who had picked him up the week before as a hitch hiker. While in prison, he spent hundreds of hours learning the law and, after being released on parole, was accepted to law school at Tulane University, where he was met with, perhaps not surprisingly, mixed reactions. Even if he graduates from Tulane, the question remains as to whether he will ever be allowed to sit for the bar exam due to the character and fitness requirement of that exam.

Of course, we do not know, and probably don’t care to know, the complete and entire life story of most people we hire from our plumber to our doctor to our lawyer, but there are some things you should know when hiring a lawyer. Read on for 5 essential questions you should ask: Continue reading

February 20, 2019

The Opioid Epidemic on Our Roadways

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

In addition to the more than 2 million Americans addicted to the drug, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 130 Americans die every day from opioid overdoses. But the opioid toll does not stop there. New data shows the opioid epidemic has found its way to the nation’s roadways in the form of more fatal car and truck accidents. Just how bad is the problem? Continue reading

July 26, 2018

We Hate To Disappoint People, But We Do. Everyday.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., we have two intake specialists, Penny Whitaker and Lauren Bates. When people call into the offices for a free consultation, Lauren and Penny take the basic accident information for a free review by one of our award-winning attorneys. Let me say, Penny and Lauren do a great job; they understand that when people call our office they are often confused about their rights and options, scared about what the future may bring and looking for help. And, we desperately want to help. But all too often, we can’t and that is where the disappointment comes in. This is never truer than when someone did do something wrong and injuries or death resulted. Let me explain. Continue reading

March 8, 2018

What We Do

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Last week, John and I were in Arizona for a meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers. We were fortunate to get to hear a number of great speakers including FBI Director Christopher Wray who left us all assured the Bureau was in good hands, and Professor Goodwin who opened our eyes to the collateral damage of the so-called War on Drugs. But the two speakers we enjoyed most were: John Q. Barrett, the author of Justice Robert H. Jackson, Trial Lawyer at Nuremburg and Jason Schechterle, a retired Arizona police officer who was horribly burned from an on-duty accident but displayed a resilience and optimism that few can imagine let alone embrace. While these two speakers and their topics were incredibly different, both had a similar underlying message: the work that trial lawyers do is incredibly important Continue reading

October 17, 2017

A Few Bad Apples

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

In any line of work, there are always a few that embarrass the rest of the profession whether you are talking about lawyers, plumbers, car salesmen, contractors, teachers, accountants, etc. Unfortunately, some of the bad apples tend to come out after injury accidents, so here is what you need to know. Continue reading

June 23, 2017

The Measure of Success

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. could not be more proud of our very own Brandon Bass. Brandon was recently recognized by the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association as “Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year”. This is a tremendous accomplishment and one that Brandon richly deserves for his work on behalf of injury victims and their families. Brandon (along with John Day, Joy Day, Laura Baker and Liz Sitzgreaves) was also recently named a Mid-South Super Lawyer again this year. Only 5% of the lawyers in the Mid-South receive this recognition.

And while we love receiving these types of awards, we know that awards are not the true measure of our success. Instead, Brandon would be the first to tell you that the true measure of our success is a fully satisfied client. A client who has been successfully shepherded through the litigation process. A client that has had their questions answered and concerns addressed. A client who receives prompt responses to phone calls and emails. A client who feels like their lawyer truly understands their situation and sincerely wants to help them. A client who is so happy with the legal services we provided that they refer a friend or family member who needs help after an accident. A client who will take the time to write a Google or Facebook review or just send us a nice thank you note or give us a call simply to express their gratitude for our work on their behalf. A client who speaks highly about their lawyer to others. And of course, a client who receives the compensation their case deserves.

This is the type of success and recognition we strive for every day. Of course, the happy irony is that Brandon (and our other lawyer’s) conscientious commitment to our client’s satisfaction is what produces the results that win awards. Pretty simple really: hard work and talent usually get recognized in the form of awards. Although awards can help injury victims decide who to hire to help them when they need it, awards are not the only consideration. There are lots of factors you should keep in mind when deciding which lawyer to help you with your injury case.

May 8, 2017

Beware of the “Lawyers”

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Recently, I have seen two instances of people posing as lawyers and engaging in unscrupulous behavior. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery is now involved in one of the cases, and criminal charges are pending against the other. So what exactly are these posers alleged to have done and what can you do to protect yourself? Continue reading

April 7, 2017

Cuba: Coffee, Cigars, Che and Good Lawyers

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Since President Obama began trying to normalize relations with Cuba, my wife and I have wanted to travel to the country, but the United States still bans general tourism to Cuba. Visitors must fall within 12 officially authorized categories. So we were thrilled when the Nashville Bar Association organized a People to People educational trip to Havana from April 1^st to April 5^th. During our trip, we enjoyed a performance by an incredibly talented youth orchestra, heard lectures by some very bright professors on Cuba-US relations and the Cuban economy, toured Hemingway’s home, went to Fusterlandia, visited a Cuban art museum, had a great walking tour of Old Havana and much more. Here are some tidbits and one very important take-away from our trip: Continue reading

March 28, 2017

Breaking News: Litigation is Expensive

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Last week, Slate reporter Emma Copley Eisenberg did a piece on the “astronomical price” charged by court reporters for trial transcripts. Eisenberg was stunned by the “outrageous fees” charged by court reporters when she wanted to investigate a case involving a farmer who had been convicted of a double homicide. When Eisenberg went to the courthouse to obtain a copy of the criminal trial transcript, she learned it would cost her $2400.00 to obtain a copy of the transcript. (Notably, it cost the farmer nearly $7,000 for the original transcript.) Eisenberg got a quick lesson on something trial lawyers have long known: litigation is expensive. Why is that?
Continue reading

December 26, 2016

Advice From a Lawyer on the New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

As the New Year approaches, many start to think about improvements they want to make in their lives for 2017. At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., our work involves helping people who have been injured in accidents and, since most accidents are preventable, we thought we would give you some New Year’s resolutions that can help protect you and others. The best part of these resolutions is, for the most part, they are easy and painless to implement (unlike that weight resolution most of us make). Here are our recommendations:

Check your auto insurance and make sure you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. I can’t tell you how often someone calls our office with significant injuries from a car accident who cannot recover any money because the driver who caused the accident did not have insurance and the client did not have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. We have written a number of posts about uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and you can find them here, here, here and here. But, our number one piece of advice to protect yourself would be to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage with as high of limits as you can afford. You will truly be surprised at how cheap it is and it can mean the difference between receiving compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and injuries and receiving nothing.
Wear your seatbelt. They save lives. Period.