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8 Prof. Law. 1 (1996-1997)

handle is hein.journals/proflw8 and id is 1 raw text is: Investigating Lawyer Solicitation in the Aftermath of Tragedy Ruth A. Woodruff he crashes of ValuJet Flight 592 and TWA Flight 800 have brought a renewed focus on the phenomenon of parachuting lawyers, lawyers who descend upon mass disaster sites to solicit business from surviving family mem- bers. The extent of the problem caused by these lawyers and how the bar should respond have become matters of growing debate within the legal commu- nity. To understand the issue from an inside point of view, we talked with two people who have firsthand knowledge of lawyer solicitation at mass disaster sites: a crash victim's husband who was solicited following the ValuJet crash, and a tort lawyer who admits to having solicited family members of crash victims and believes he is providing a valu- able service to these families. To gain some insight into what the bar has done recently in mass disaster situations, we talked with bar officials both in Florida, the site of the ValuJet crash, and in New York, where TWA Flight 800 went down. Finally, to understand the current state of the law, we can- vassed current rules that govern lawyer solicitation and tracked national efforts to curb lawyer solicita- tion at mass disaster sites. A Personal Experience The intellectual debate over the propriety of solicitation takes on greater meaning when viewed from the perspective of an accident victim's family. Richard P. Kessler of Macey, Wilensky, Cohen, Wittner & Kessler, LLP of Georgia lost his wife, Kathleen Parker Kessler, also a lawyer, in the crash of ValuJet Flight 592. Being both a lawyer and a victim's spouse, Mr. Kessler has a unique perspec- tive on the issue of lawyer solicitation. He described what he experi- enced as the best and the worst of human behavior in the days and weeks following the crash: the best from the people of Miami, agencies involved in assisting the families, and volun- teers; the worst from the press and lawyers. What Kessler saw of lawyer behavior in the aftermath of the ValuJet crash sickened him. The conduct of lawyers meet- ing with families in the hotel designated for their stay in Florida was barbaric; lawyers frightening families with a parade of horribles that would occur if they failed to engage the lawyers immedi- ately to protect their rights. Kessler stated: They were directly solicited by mail, by tele- phone and in person. In some instances they were scared and pressured into contingency fee con- tracts without proper representation or the under- standing of what they were doing. You can't think at a time like this. I know, I've been there. I am an attorney and I am supposed to be able to handle myself, given all the training I have had, but I couldn't function or think. Continued on page 4 November 1996 Volume 8 Issue Number 1 He described what he experienced as the best and the worst of human behavior... .