Lawsuits are never an easy process, but when they come to light due to accidents, injuries and wrongful deaths, emotions and tensions rise that little bit further. We speak with James Magazine who is an attorney in Florida; he has a vast amount of experience regarding personal injury law and he discusses the tricks behind being a Top 100 Trial Lawyer, the challenges he faces when dealing with cases involving wrongful death and how his jurisdiction and its administration could be improved in order for the betterment of its citizens and James’ clients.
Ever since gaining your license in 1990 to practice law, how has your experience developed your expertise to be at the top of your game?
I think in order to be at the top of your game you cannot stop learning. I tried my first personal injury case in 1991 and to this day I learn something every time I try a case. I think it is very important to go to seminars on jury selection and go to trial boot camps where you can sharpen your skills. I bounce trial ideas off my fellow trial lawyers on a regular basis. I also think it is important to develop and try new ways to capture the jury’s attention. I would also state that I am a firm believer in visual aids. I think having all surgical and interventional procedures videotaped for use at trial is important. Juries can listen to a doctor testify all day about the procedure they performed but if the jury watches the procedure it has more of a profound impact. Overall, I would say never stop learning and continue to be creative; this most certainly helps me stay at the top of my game.
As Thought Leader, can you share what your main motivation was behind specialising in personal injury?
My main motivation for specialising in personal injury law is to help the helpless. The insurance industry, big businesses and big pharma industries have endless supplies of money to fight against the innocent victim and those giants have no intention of treating the injured victims fairly. I thrive on getting justice for those who need my help. Recently, a gentleman was referred to our office with a serious knee injury after a motorcycle accident. The offer from the big corporate defendant was $10,000. When we got into the case and retained the appropriate experts, we moved the case for trial and never stopped pressuring that corporate defendant until they settled for what was fair. What we deem as ‘fair’ is enough money for our client to have the opportunity to live the rest of his life without financial worries, since the leg injury and the infection that developed left him unable to work. After we reached the settlement, my client sent me a wonderful letter telling me that since his accident, the financial burden that he was dealing with was unbearable, but ever since I had resolved the case for him, he can now live the rest of his life without that troublesome burden. It is stories like these that make me want to fight for justice.
Can you share with Lawyer Monthly what it means to you for being one of the TOP 100 Trial Lawyers in Florida? Moreover, what qualities do you think are needed in order to achieve such a status?
It was a tremendous and humbling honour to be named one of Florida Top 100 lawyers. I think the qualities that are needed to achieve this status are: a continued willingness to learn and to stay ahead of the defence bar. Listen to how the best of the best try their cases or what strategies they employ and if you can use them in your case, then do so effectively. It is very important to always be prepared and thus I do tend to “over” prepare. You have to know every facet of your case and the defence’s cases long before the trial. Mock try your cases, learn what lay people think of your cases and your theories. Moreover, trial lawyers are famous for making things too technical or complicated, but I am a firm believer in keeping it simple. Make sure you have retained the best experts and make sure you thoroughly prepare them for trial. I think that if your case is prepared for trial at the mediation, and the defence is aware of this, then you have the best chance for settlement. If not, you ought to prepare for war.
What is the most difficult aspect of dealing with cases involving wrongful death?
The most difficult aspect of dealing with wrongful death cases is containing my emotions. When you are working with a spouse that has lost their loved one of many years, or working with parents that have lost a child, being able to contain your emotions properly during your case in front of the jury is the most difficult aspect. I find that the best way to control this is through extensive work with my clients, getting to know them, the loved one they lost and the impact it has had on them. By thoroughly exploring each and every aspect of this loss as it pertains to my clients, helps me become laser focused. The emotions will always creep in, but the story is of better focus.
Are there any reformations to laws in the USA that you are keen to see change?
I think that our legislators in our state and local governments need to stop focusing on tort reform. Our legislators keep stripping our individual rights to hold businesses, medical device companies, big pharma and nursing homes accountable for the harm that they cause. Unfortunately, our legislators care more about the profits companies can earn instead of the harm that they can cause to the citizens that originally had elected them [the legislators]. I wish that we could do a better job at educating the public as to what our legislators are doing and trying to do to them. If the public knew that their rights were being stripped away without having a say in that, they would be outraged and hopefully vote those legislators out of office.
James Magazine
Personal Injury Attorney
+ 727-849-5353
www.lucasmagazine.com
8606 Government Dr, New Port Richey, FL 34654, USA
James Magazine was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Jim graduated in 1986 from Baldwin Wallace College, located in Berea, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He received his Juris Doctor from Cleveland Marshall College of Law located in Cleveland, Ohio in 1989. Jim was licensed to practice law in the State of Florida in 1990. He is admitted to practice before the United States Middle and Southern District Courts in Florida, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
The Law Offices of Lucas Magazine was founded in February 2000. Since its inception, the New Port Richey Law Firm has grown considerably due to the basic principles of hard work and dedication to our clients’ needs. Our top-notch staff takes pride in handling every detail of our clients. Members of our support staff are also bilingual in Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Greek. At Lucas Magazine, our attorneys are dedicated to aggressively representing their clients against powerful insurance companies. The firm litigates a substantial portion of its cases and often handles the litigation work for other attorneys.
