Thoughts on the care and feeding of great defense lawyers and claims handlers—look for Alphas; not Omegas.
Editor’s comment: We feel claims and risk managers should always look for the “Alphas” among the defense bar to assist and counsel you in difficult litigation. In the Illinois’ workers’ compensation, employment law and general liability legal community, risk/claims managers are always faced with an arena that is filled with trepidation and concern. We have heard of claimant attorney after claimant attorney who bullies, badgers and sometimes even screams at adjusters and claims handlers seeking to be Alphas and thereby get their way. Claimant lawyers are not shy to point out their political ties and fund-raising efforts and “clout” in the judicial and administrative arenas. We are also amazed at how many times we get questions from claims adjusters who are completely befuddled because an attorney on the other side has passively confused them or actively misstated case law or the Workers’ Compensation Act or Rules.
In social animals, the Alpha is the individual in the given community holding the highest rank. Other members in the same social group may exhibit deference or other symbolic signs of respect particular to their species towards the Alpha. In the animal world, Alpha animals are given preference in food and all other benefits. Other animals in the community are usually killed or ousted if they violate this rule. The status of the Alpha is often achieved by means of superior physical prowess. The individual in the Alpha position usually changes to a Beta when another challenges it to a fight and wins.
In the world of lawyers, the Alpha defense lawyer is the one who brings a number of critically important assets to our hopefully-less-than-deadly battlefield. An Alpha defense lawyer will regularly demonstrate:
- Above-average or superior intelligence;
- Current knowledge of all applicable case law and legislative developments;
- An understanding of political factors that may affect outcomes;
- They are very responsive and accessible;
- They are intrinsically cost-effective in their approach;
- They can provide realistic expectations;
- They anticipate regular or typical developments;
- They render unpredictable litigation as predictable as possible.
You may also note these same attributes apply to claims handlers. We are confident corporate risk managers who oversee Illinois claims are looking for Alpha claims handlers who are willing to stand up for themselves and obtain best possible outcomes in all their claims. It is a rare and beautiful thing to see a veteran claims manager who knows the respective litigation system like a book and is willing to stand up and be counted in the fight. As we have said many times, it is critically important for the adjuster to “pay the good (or bona fide) ones, fight the bad or questionable ones and know the difference.”
Going back to members of the defense bar, most important in finding the “Alpha” in any Illinois defense lawyer is their willingness to participate wisely in the battlefield. Every risk/claim manager has to be confident their selected attorney is willing to fight for you and present themselves in any fight in a fashion you would present it. Trust us; there are a lot of lawyers out there who are afraid of members of the Plaintiff/Petitioner bar and similarly cower in front of some of our brilliant but challenging judges and Arbitrators—that sort of lawyer is clearly a Beta or less. There are a lot of very solid and successful claimant attorneys who will push and push as the Alphas of their side of the bar. On the defense side of the matrix, you need someone with a lot of spine to sit up, properly prepare and seek the best possible outcome in this difficult state.
All defense lawyers in our hierarchic legal community have a certain rank. Three of these ranks have attracted special attention in etiology and been given special names: Alpha, Beta and Omega. We feel Beta defense lawyers are the second-tier and routinely lose to Alphas on the other side. We feel they are men and women defense lawyers who are difficult to reach, ill-prepared, afraid of the fight and always willing to rapidly settle any claim.
Finally, Omega defense lawyers refer to the lowest caste of the legal hierarchical society. An Omega defense lawyer is subordinated to all others in the community. We are told some members of the in-house counsel community may fill this bill while we are also certain many members of house counsel staffs range from Alphas to Omegas, like every other hierarchy.
If you have any questions or comments, please forward them to our resident Blog Administrator, Arik D. Hetue, J.D. who can be reached at ahetue@keefe-law.com or post them later today on our award-winning blog at www.keefe-law.com/blog.
