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Inspired Solo - Andy Simpson: Solo Takes On DOJ - And Wins
By Sheryl | January 21, 2008
Here’s an inspirational tale that has the added benefit of being absolutely true: my colleague Andy Simpson, also a member of the Solosez discussion list from the ABA (and if you’re thinking of going solo and haven’t joined this freebie resource yet, you definitely should - just click the link for more information), reported some excellent news this past week to the list.
I asked him if he’d mind if I shared this with TIS readers, and after a few edits for readability and style, he sent the story on for publication, with his permission to share with all of you.
I think it’s important to read stories like this from time to time because they put the lie to the biggest misconception about solo practice: that solos can’t take on the “big guns” (be they tall building law firms or government agencies, as in Andy’s story), because we just don’t have the _________ (whatever - fill in the blank with any or all of the following: bodies, experience, resources, money, time, support …). Pay special attention to the paragraph where Andy describes his use of technology during the course of the trial, as it’s technology that can go a long way to bridging the gap between the solo and the Big Law opposing counsel!
So the next time anyone tries to belittle your solo dream, or ask you when you’re going to quit this solo nonsense and get a real job? Introduce your friend to Andy Simpson. And now, I’ll let Andy take it from here!
This past week I tried a Title VII discrimination case against the US Marshals Service. I represented a female deputy US marshal. After 3-1/2 days of trial, it only took the jury one hour and 45 minutes to find for my client on all three counts: intentional discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation.
Under Title VII, the jury only gets to decide the non-economic issues, and it awarded my client $500,000 for emotional distress. By statute, this will be capped at $300,000. The judge also awarded $92,000 for back pay – she was out of work 9 months due to the stress induced by the hostile work place. We are entitled to an award of attorneys fees by statute and will file a motion for such an award.
Although the jury found that intentional discrimination kept her from being promoted to a specific job, the judge did not award front and back pay for the pay differential. We proved that the Marshals Service has a policy that keeps you from being promoted if you have an internal affairs complaint pending against you and that an internal affairs complaint was filed against her for the purpose of keeping a female from becoming a supervisor. However, the judge found that we did not prove that but for this discrimination, she would have been promoted anyway.
The night before closing argument, I worked all night on my closing — got 1.25 hours sleep — and gave one heck of a closing. People in the courtroom were crying as I described what my client had been through. It was the first time her story had been told and it was a very powerful story.
While the jury was deliberating, my client told me that no matter what happened, it didn’t matter — that my closing had given her what she wanted — she felt like she had had her day in court. She has been through Hell for the last five years and felt so alone because no one in the Marshals Service would address her complaints and instead allowed her colleagues to retaliate against her.
There was lots of stuff they did, but it included the filing of 8 internal affairs complaints against her in less than two years (all eventually dismissed with no finding of wrongdoing). And when she reached out to the Employee Assistance Program as a lifeline, they tried to interfere with her access to the EAP-provided psychologist, too.
Another gratifying moment was when we were walking out of the courthouse. One of the women working in the clerk’s office saw us and waved us over. She came running out from behind the intake counter to give my client a big hug and tell her how happy she was for her. The courthouse employees were aware of what the other deputy marshals had been doing to her and saying about her behind her back (these guys were jerks to a lot of women) and they were overjoyed to see her vindicated.
Incidentally, I fully used PowerPoint for the first time in a case in both opening and closing. It was incredibly effective. I used techniques I had learned at the ABA TechShow over the years and it paid off. I think a key reason the jury came back so quickly is that before they heard the judge’s charge, they had seen me visually walk them through each element of proof of the three claims in the charge, tying the evidence to each element as I went. So when they went into the jury room, they didn’t need to spend much time discussing each element to see whether they thought I had proven it.
So remember solos — we can take on even the biggest of the law firms — the Department of Justice — and win.
Congratulations, Andy! Thanks for giving us such a powerful reminder that we solos shouldn’t sell ourselves short!
Topics: Inspired Solos |
