After law school, my first job was with the Public Defender’s office in Sanford and Orlando. I was in court every week for the five years I was an Assistant Public Defender. Some of the best trial lawyers get their start as Assistant Public Defenders. You learn trial skills, effective communicating, and you develop your reputation in the legal community.
As a Public Defender, I was in the courthouse with an hour break between hearings. I went into a courtroom across the hall where a trial was taking place. When I walked in, I saw a young woman walking with a limp and a cane to the witness box. I learned she had been injured in a car crash. I watched the insurance company’s lawyer cross-examining her. In criminal court, I had never seen a victim being treated so poorly by a lawyer. I watched as long as I could until I had to return to the courtroom across the hall for my scheduled hearing. When that was finished, I went back to watch more of the injured woman’s trial.
I watched as the insurance lawyer called a doctor hired by the insurance company to testify that, in his opinion, the injured woman was exaggerating her symptoms. I then watched the injured woman’s attorney cross-examine that doctor and expose him as a hired gun who made his living testifying for insurance companies. I knew then I wanted to spend my legal career representing injured accident victims.
