Happy Clients

By: Carol Dillon
BleekeDillonCrandall

It’s been a good week for client service here at Bleeke Dillon Crandall. I had a client/homeowner call me the other day very upset about how her case was going. She is being sued by family members for an accident that occurred at her home and she in turn had to bring other family members in the case as third-party defendants. She wasn’t happy with the obvious family turmoil that the case is causing. I talked her through the legal theories behind what we were doing in the case and how we had to do what we were doing in order to present the best possible defense for her and that ultimately most cases are not going to go to trial, and if they do, they’re not going to involve finger-pointing between co-defendants. It took quite a while of listening and explaining and answering questions, but in the end, she felt much more comfortable and better because she understood why we were doing things and why they were necessary. It’s these kinds of conversations with clients that really make our job worth it and make me smile when I get off the phone because I’ve done my job – not really as the attorney, but as the counselor to the client.

I also received a long-awaited summary judgment decision in my favor on a statute of limitations issue in a suit against a physician and a nurse practitioner. The two defendants had been particularly upset about the case because they stood behind what they did for the patient and thought it was unfair that the patient filed the complaint beyond the statute of limitations. After three years of litigating because of some procedural hang-ups, we finally won on the statute of limitations issue, even though we also had a summary judgment motion pending on the merits of the case. The court didn’t even have to go that far because they agreed with us on the statute of limitations issue. The best part of my week was being able to call both of those clients and tell them personally that we won our summary judgment and they could finally put the case out of their mind. They were extremely happy and appreciative and the doctor even said, “I now have faith in the justice system.” That kept me smiling all day because that news probably made their weekends and that’s really why we do what we do. For those of you who know me, this kind of “Pollyanna” blog isn’t very “me”, but it’s been a great week and let’s hope for more good results to come.