There is an old saying that the difference between steak and eggs is that the hen is involved, but the steer is committed. At our law firm, we have become committed by two strong forces: the rewards which go with being able to help our clients and the press of the sheer mass of ever expanding laws being passed and technical data evolving.

I had the choice to go into several areas of the law. Prosecuting criminals, being a corporate lawyer, or a real estate practice were all the options that I considered when I started law school. I went to law school at night because I needed to work.

I took a job with an insurance company in its injury claims department. The particular assignment was a great one for me because of the exposure to many different kinds of liabilities and different types of injuries. I dealt with expert witnesses in the multiple areas of medical specialties, as well as economics and engineering. I quickly learned that seemingly well qualified experts would look at the same case and come up with diametrically different conclusions. It was also true that the experts were almost always paid far more money for being expert witnesses than they would performing the job descriptions of their professions. Curiously, it seemed that many experts would adopt the position of the party that hired him.

As law school graduation drew near, I considered accepting job offers from the insurance company and the different law firms which specialized in representing insurance companies. Defending product liability claims were of particular interest. Those were days of high inflation. I had accepted the notion that product liability cases were bad, because they would drive up the costs of products which would be inflationary.

Then a pivotal experience came my way.

I attended an educational seminar on product liability. The speaker addressed the question about the inflationary pressures of product liability. He pointed out that the costs of injury were the costs that were inflationary. The cost involved in designing machines so that the dangers were either designed out or safety guarded out were but a drop in the bucket compared to the loss of productive work time and medical expenses which attend a serious injury.

At the meeting, I realized that obtaining fair compensation for injured people was something I could be good at and feel good about doing. I knew that the injured people needed good representation. The insurance companies make money paying as little as they can. They hire lawyers who specialize in helping the companies to continue paying as little as they can. Most of the attorneys representing the injured had much less experience with the different kinds of cases and injuries than the insurance companies' lawyers. Even the attorneys who were specialists for claimants would usually fall short of the experience of the insurance lawyers. I had an advantage that came from my employment with the insurance company I worked for. I had first hand experience across a wide area and more importantly, an understanding of how the companies worked and how to deal with the experts.

So I set out to become a lawyer for the injured. My clients were literally the injured, maimed, widowed, and orphaned. Over the years, there has been a huge growth in the law. It would be virtually impossible to keep up with every case in every area. In the personal injury field alone, there are hundreds of cases and laws which come down each year and can and do make big differences in the outcome of our client's cases. Added to that are the different medical advances and engineering know how that keep evolving. It takes commitment to keep up.

The decision to be the lawyer for the injured has taken me down a road. The other areas where I could have traveled are long since behind me. The time and energy that would have been required to keep on top of the development of the law and technology in the other areas have been invested instead into the issues that apply to the injured.

Do I have any regrets? No, none, I get to face fascinating challenges and help people in need. Our law firm is a busy one where we can make the differences that make the difference for people from all walks of life. We are able to contribute to advancing safety at home, on public property, and in the workplace.

Insurance Companies hire lawyers who specialize in helping the companies to continue paying as little as possible. We are lawyers who specialize in making the insurance companies pay what they should.

Russell E. Nordstrom