Plaintiff's in personal injury cases are at a huge disadvantage; Defendants have access to much, much more data.

If I was currently sitting on any NYSTLA committe today like I did 15 yrs ago, I would be pressing for some way to even the "litigation playing field " with carriers and defendants. While defendants have a world of information regarding plaintiffs at their disposal, plaintiffs have to jump through hoops to get the same information about their own clients.
For example; Defendants have access to the Central Indexing Bureau[CIB], while plaintiffs don't. The CIB provides particulars about plaintiffs prior accidents. Therefore, defendants are given a great advantage in obtaining discovery material and performing the necessary investigation. So if your client lies to you[what else is new] and says he had no priors...you are open to being blindsided and perhaps putting your whole case at risk.
Defendants have access to "medical claims databases" and criminal databases as well. Powerful stuff! Sometimes a smart defendant's attorney will not even reveal what he knows until the plaintiff has dug a ditch for himself by lying at his /her deposition. Sneaky or smart? This unlevel playing field has been in existence forever.....It's about time the plaintiff's bar does something about it!

Judicial Handbook on sale for $74.95 from the Law Journal.

Got an email yesterday that the Judicial Handbook, published by the Law Journal is currently on sale for $74.95. In this day and age, with all the information available it certainly can't hurt to know a little about your assigned Judge's background, work history, political affiliations etc.
Definitely good to know if your assigned Judge (on a toxic tort case )was former in-house counsel to Monsanto, etc... Well, you get the point. Anyway, I'm getting it. Will let you know.

Never, Ever Let the Clients Complete the Funding Application Themselves.

There are a slew of reasons that exist which make great arguments for not letting the clients complete the funding application themselves, which include;
1. Clients will tell you anything to get "cash";
2. Client's don't usually have access to documents/information we need;
3. You don't want clients signing or preparing anything which could become subject to subpoena " down the road", and
4. Lastly, If you want your client to obtain funding, (despite the fact that process takes 30-60 minutes of your time), as the attorney you can be in control of the situation; i.e. amts., information, etc......and you will do it the right way.
Some attorneys have the client call me about funding; which is fine , but frankly a waste of time. Those attorneys who have worked with me know to simply email, fax or overnight to me a "funding application and packet" which will certainly streamline the process.
Again with client funding,"you're either in or out".