Posts Tagged ‘experience’
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Does personal injury experience matter?
The Old Spice commercial featuring Bruce Campbell is one of the greatest ads produced. The one minute ad concludes with the message, “Experience Is Everything.” Mr. Campbell’s monologue speaks several truths about experience including:
- “If you have it, you need more of it.”
- “You need it to get it.”
- “If you don’t already have any of it to begin with, you can’t get any of it to get started…”
You can watch the video for yourself: Old Spice Commercial ft Bruce Campbell
After finishing law school I ran into the experience hurdle more than once on my job search. Looking back, the hurdle pointed me into solo practice. I have been successfully solo since 2007.
One of my first personal injury cases involved a survivor of a terrible motorcycle accident. The client came as a referral from an existing client. I had limited knowledge of personal injury matters at the time, but I knew enough to know that the injuries my client suffered in the motorcycle accident needed my full attention. I relied on my network to help guide me through the case, and I worked to provide my client with answers to questions. I wish that I could say that I was able to secure a substantial verdict of settlement for my client, but I cannot. The client elected not to have me continue representation in this matter. After several months of work, the client chose to have more experienced attorney represention in the personal injury matter.
What?
To date, I don’t know the outcome of the claim. For me, it was a tremendous, but ego bruising learning experience. The next few years saw more personal injury cases come my way…and stay. Experience is truly “the best teacher”. It took the bruising experience for me to grasp the magnitude of my North Carolina personal injury practice.
For attorneys who have had similar experiences, but desire to gain experience, don’t underestimate the benefit in associating (or fee saharing) with more experienced attorneys. For me, it was a great way to gain experience. The end result may have been less financial gain for me, but as the commercial pronounced,“Experience Is Everything.”
If I could add one personal statement to Bruce Campbell’s monologue, it would be:
“You can’t buy it, but if you don’t have it, you will pay for it.”
By not being allowed to fully represent the client through the matter, I paid the price. Now, I am able to share it or help others get it. So, the “case that wasn’t” turned out to be very valuable.
Tags: experience, injury, motorcycle accident, north carolina personal injury
Posted in Personal Injury, The Law Offices of Alesia M. Vick | Comments Off
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