Karina Nicole Lallande

Karina Lallande

While I disagree with various statements and implications contained in the review, professional and ethical considerations prohibit me from responding more directly to statements in the review as untrue or inaccurate. My response below will hopefully provide some general educational information for readers. My firm, Lallande Law, was retained to represent the plaintiff in this case, and I was the primary attorney working on the case from beginning to end. Given the significant amount of work involved in this type of litigation, it is common for multiple attorneys to work on a case. Sometimes, with the client’s express written consent, attorneys from different law firms work together on behalf of a client without any increased fee to the client. This creates a direct attorney-client relationship between the client and both law firms. A client has the ultimate decision on whether a case goes to trial by accepting or rejecting the settlement offers that are made in the case. Lallande Law shares a mutual interest with the client to arrive at a reasonable settlement and we work hard to present comprehensive information to the insurers and defense attorneys in an effort to obtain a settlement that is fair to the client. A case goes to trial when the defendant’s insurer is not willing to pay a fair amount in settlement that a plaintiff will accept. Lallande Law’s clients are informed that going to trial involves risk and is expensive. Taking a case to trial involves much more expense, time, and effort on our part than a settlement. Lallande Law’s clients appreciate that if the client refuses the insurance company’s efforts to force an unreasonable settlement offer, then Lallande Law will go to battle for the client at trial. The big money insurers are well aware that by increasing litigation expenses they can significantly decrease a plaintiff’s net recovery, even when the plaintiff is successful in obtaining a favorable verdict. The insurers often intentionally drive up the expenses in a case in an effort to force plaintiffs and their attorneys to surrender, and will pay more to take a case to trial than to fairly settle the case. Expert witness fees are usually the most costly expense. Defendant’s insurers will pay for testimony by accident reconstruction experts, biomechanical experts who testify that there was not enough force to cause the injuries, and medical experts who conduct a single medical exam and then deny that the plaintiff is injured. Failure by a plaintiff’s attorney to put up the financial resources and hire corresponding experts to testify on the plaintiff’s behalf and counter the testimony of the defendant’s hired experts places plaintiff at a disadvantage and can result in losing the case. Lallande Law advances all of the expenses associated with a case and only recovers those expenses if a favorable settlement or verdict is obtained on behalf of the client. Lallande Law takes the financial risk to pursue justice on behalf of the client, and if a favorable result is not obtained then it is Lallande Law that bears the financial loss. Lallande Law does not risk money on cases frivolously. Lallande Law clients generally appreciate that we are willing to risk significant money, time and effort to fight for them and not give into an insurance company’s efforts to bury our clients with their big money lawyers and experts. Ethical considerations prevent me from responding more specifically to comments in the review regarding financial aspects of the case. Lallande Law communicates with clients frequently, advising them of significant case developments. We meet with clients to prepare them for deposition and trial testimony. Our clients are in the courtroom during trial and are informed of what is going on throughout. Lallande Law is available to clients to answer any questions. We are sorry that you are not satisfied with the successful judgement obtained after a trial verdict in your favor.