ASK A BACKWOODS SOUTHERN LAWYER
By Franklin Edenfield
TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | SEPT 2019 31
For want of a nail, a horse was lost.
For want of a horse, a messenger was lost.
For want of a messenger, a general was lost.
For want of a general, a battle was lost.
For want of a battle, a nation was lost.
MORAL: Events have consequences, even when seemingly unrelated.
This month’s column is not in response to a specific question but is an issue I have been wanting to address for some time: I have been seriously
injured in an automobile accident. I see all the attorney ads on TV and have to wonder if lawyers from out-of-town are just more competent and
will get me more money?
First of all, one reason you are seeing more lawyer ads on TV is because Chatham County is gaining a reputation as a plaintiff’s jurisdiction. Outof
town, even out-of-state lawyers are advertising here because they feel its “low hanging fruit.” These attorneys are not more experienced, more
competent, more successful and, in fact, most of them would not know a courtroom if it walked up and introduced itself. If they are being honest they
will admit that their business plan is to get cases in the door, get them settled as soon as possible, get paid, and close the file. Some will even admit
that going to court does not fit their business profile.
Having practiced law for forty-plus years in a small town in Central Southeast Georgia, I am painfully aware of the concept that ‘Atlanta lawyers’
must be better because they are in Atlanta. In fact, many of them actually believe that nonsense.
Some years ago I was hired by a longstanding client to handle all of a specific type of case south of Macon and was partnered with one of the largest
firms in Atlanta. I worked on a daily basis with a young associate for over two years. When we finally obtained a favorable ruling that terminated all of
the litigation, a final meeting to make sure all of the paperwork was in order. This young man was born and raised in Atlanta and had practiced there
for several years and probably could not find his way outside the beltway without a GPS. His last statement to me was, “You seem like a pretty good
lawyer but then, if you were really good you would be up here with us, wouldn’t you?” In his mind, the world was now back to normal.
There are well over a hundred lawyers practicing in Chatham County and surrounding areas and dozens who would qualify as some of the best
lawyers, not only in Georgia, but in the entire southeast. They practice in Savannah because they choose to, not because it was their only option.
There are certain advantages you obtain when you hire a local attorney and, by the same token, lose when you choose to go with the big city outof
town lawyer.
First of all, they know the judges and the judges know them. That means the judges are willing to take what the attorney says at face value and
that usually means litigation becomes a search for the truth and not an ego battle to try and prove who’s got the biggest sexual organ.
Secondly, but certainly related, local attorneys know each other. Once again that means cases get resolved more expeditiously, much less expensively,
and with less agony and bloodshed.
If you have been injured you have basically two objectives – get fairly compensated and resolve the matter as quickly as possible. That may happen
with an out-of-town big city lawyer but it is much more likely if you are represented by someone you could well see walking down the street and who
would actually recognize you as a client. When you call your attorney’s office and the first thing they want to know is “your file number” that should
speak volumes.