Lepine Law Group

It was another fantastic day at LLG today. Watching Sara Simmons get sworn in to the Lawyers Club board made me smile bigger than ever! Go Sara go!

Inspiration is a funny thing. You can’t plan for it and the more you chase it, the more elusive it becomes. And then, out of the blue, when you are not expecting it, it comes to you and you are moved to tears. That was my experience this week hearing former Senator Olympia Snow speak at the Lawyers Club annual dinner. She gave us the whole story. She let us in. We got to feel what is was like for her growing up in an immigrant family, how she coped as a child when her paren...ts died, and how she felt as a young woman when her husband died. At each juncture, she had the option of rolling over, or taking what she was dealt, and running with it. And run she did! Olympia’s story is not the stuff that makes for excited headlines. To the contrary, her political career was best known for the compromise she brought, for her statesmanlike conduct. Today we refer to it as bipartisanship. But that terms is a better indicator of our own limited way of thinking of the world, the false dilemma of our modern day paradigm. Olympia doesn't live in the same world that most of us do. Hers is a far more expansive place. Like the poet she quoted, Olympia believes in talking to people, rather than walking past them like they are stones that don’t matter. How else could she have found middle ground with so many officials who were elected based on principles contrary to her own? How else could she have quietly but consistently delivered the vote that would determine the issue? See more

Helping to Police the Police The damage that being subjected to police brutality does to a person’s psyche is extensive and it's permanent. Ask Mario Givens, the man who filed a complaint in 2013 against the officer who killed Walter Scott last month. Every week Lepine Law Group hears from citizens who have been mistreated and physically abused by our local law enforcement officers for no good reason. The demand for representation in these cases is high, but unfortunately, t...he stakes are even higher. Police departments and municipalities have unlimited resources to try these cases and then to appeal them if they lose. Most people don’t have $50,000 in costs that is out of pocket expenses, not including attorney time to be able to pursue vindication of their rights. We can’t take on the vast majority of these cases, but when we hear about blatant violations of civil rights, we can’t stand by and do nothing either. In response to the high volume of calls for help we receive, Lepine Law Group has begun assisting clients in documenting the misconduct. Prior complaints about an officer in his personnel file can be gold when prosecuting a civil action, not to mention the salutary effect they should have in improving the quality of the police department. We want to help the police to improve and the victim to heal. We offer advice and assistance in completing tort claims against wayward officers which usually result in Internal Affairs investigations. The complaints we help them write are legally required to be kept in the officers’ personnel files and are accessible by litigants in other cases for five years. It does not solve the problem, but it acknowledges that one exists. And, for the citizen who's been victimized by police, it is a healthy response, and a strong step toward regaining confidence in a system of law enforcement that worked against them, rather than protecting them.

We are very thankful for for a bountiful 2014! Lepine Law Group started the year with a month-long civil rights victory. The jury found that the defendant-officers with the San Diego Police Department did not follow their training and negligently injured our client. Over the summer, we settled a breach of oral contract case that was ready for re-trial. It was gratifying to see resolution after five long years of litigation. In October, Lepine Law Group secured another jury ve...rdict in a matter between two intimate partners concerning their agreement to pool resources and share in the proceeds of their joint efforts. When our client thanked us for giving her life back, we in turn could not have been more thankful for the opportunity to present her case before a jury of her peers, truly some of San Diego's finest. Throughout 2014, we took on a variety of other cases that we are grateful to be a part of including medical malpractice, financial elder abuse, housing discrimination, post-nuptial agreements and property division. We look forward to what is yet to come! From ours to yours, Happy Holidays and cheers to 2015!

A Great Settlement Judge There are a lot of retired judges out there who go into private practice doing Alternative Dispute Resolution selling mediation services. In theory, they should be a shoe-in for the job, right? They’ve seen literally thousands of cases and are pretty food at sizing up what a case is worth, what the parties can expect. In our experience, though, a judge still sitting on the bench has greater sway with parties. There is something to be said for showing ...up at the court house; the formality of the building, the armed bailiffs, the back robes, these things impose on the litigants. Whether it be fear or respect, the atmosphere gets the attention of litigants - and attorneys alike. There is one judge who is batting 1000 in getting our cases settled. To start, he just looks like the stereotypical picture of a judge, and I have found, that it was most of my clients still expect. A good appearance never hurts. Older, white hair, and a stern but friendly demeanor. Just right. He only does settlement work and he only takes two cases a day. If he is even half as successful with other cases as he has been with ours, that amounts to a huge load he is taking off the overburdened system. Having watched him at work several times now, I realize the man is nothing short of brilliant. He says he never does two cases alike - each case is new and different and he works them as they come. But there are a few things that are present each and every time that I think are the ingredients for his success, at least in part: 1) He cuts to the chase. If your case has a weak spot, he hones in on it and exposes it. And most cases do have at least one weak spot. 2) He shows genuine respect. He knows what it is like to be in the lawyers’ positions and the parties’. He shows the same respect for a slip and fall as he does for a multi-million dollar claim against the State. 3) He knows his own biases. There are some cases he just won’t do because he just doesn’t like them. And he will tell you as much. Perhaps this is a luxury of his position, but we should afford all trial judges this type of discretion. Plainly, if you don’t like the subject matter, you’re not going to be very receptive to hearing about it. These simple steps may not spell the secret to settling all cases, but they are basic lessons that anyone who holds themselves out as a mediator would be well served to follow.