Role of a Lawyer
in the Legal System

In a political climate where lawyers are constantly being criticized and ridiculed, we are proud to be Trial Lawyers and want to share with you why we think our role is important to our Civil Justice System in the 21st Century.

Although we are living in a time of great prosperity and freedoms, American society is also experiencing a trend where juries seem to be more conservative in awarding jury verdicts to injured persons. Some political leaders are proposing the passage of laws in our Congress and State Legislatures attempting to limit the ability of the injured persons to seek compensation for the wrongs they have experienced as a result of the negligence of another and to limit the time in which to bring a claim. In Minnesota, large jury verdicts are very rare. In fact, of the cases that are tried in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, approximately 80% of the jury verdicts are awarded in favor of the defendant. The concept of "personal responsibility" is often used against the injured party when in fact the evidence shows that the defendant is clearly the cause of the injury. It appears that a jury of our peers is more reluctant than in the past to award Plaintiffs compensation unless the injuries are very serious and the negligence is very clear.

In order to better understand the current conservative jury climate, one must understand the history of how the justice system has developed through the centuries, the difference between civil and criminal laws, and the recent jury decisions in high profile cases.