Confessions of a Former Insurance Defense Attorney
My name is Katie Harris, and I’m a former insurance defense attorney. If you are on our personal injury attorney website and blog, you may wonder how someone winds up helping insurance companies defend the claims of people who were hurt. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you my story. I spent the first three years of my career as an attorney working for judges at federal and state court. I loved it, but I was ready to practice law. When I was looking to move into private practice, a friend told me about opportunity at a Toledo firm with some smart, kind people, and I took it. It happened to be an insurance defense litigation firm. Over time, I realized that even though I was good at my job, I didn’t always feel good about it. For one thing, I didn’t like that my job involved figuring out the least amount of money to give someone who had been hurt or lost a loved one. In certain cases it really started to weigh on me.
I’ll always remember that one night over dinner my husband said, “You’re great at your job, and I’m proud of you. But you could be using your powers for good.” That might be a little dramatic – there are very few “villains” in litigation – but I knew deep down that the message was right. I could be doing more for people.
I finally decided to leave defense work after I helped win a jury trial for an insurance company.
The hours after that verdict were a jumble of emotions for me. At first, I felt excitement and pride. For lawyers, there’s something exhilarating about trial. It happens so rarely and there’s so much work involved in preparing for it that if you get a verdict in your favor, there’s a huge adrenaline rush. I also thought (and still think) the result was correct in that case, and I was very proud of the hard work I had done.
Later though, I felt a familiar weight come down on my shoulders heavier than it ever had before. I spent the entire car trip thinking over and over again, “I am on the wrong side.
” Within a few months I was in the process of coming to work as a personal injury attorney here at Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC.
Knowing how insurance companies and their lawyers think, one of my goals is to help people understand that process. Over the next several months, I plan to blog about some issues I think are important to personal injury cases, starting with a few posts about social media. Stay tuned, and if there is anything you would like to see addressed, feel free to email us at any time at kharris@charlesboyk-law.com.
Our firm is an experienced personal injury firm that has represented thousands of people. If you or a loved one were injured due to the negligence of another, please contact us at (877) 277-7336. There is no charge to speak with us or for free case evaluations.
