Nicholas White’s elevator ride

Overlawyered posted this comment on a New Yorker article about Nicholas White, who spent 41 hours trapped in an elevator, and then sued.  Rather than return to work when he got out of the elevator, he spent eight weeks in Anguilla, lost his job, spent all his money, and then settled for what appears to be not a whole lot of money, although he isn’t at liberty to say how much.

The title to Ted Frank’s article suggests Nicholas White’s lawyers made their client worse off than he was before he sued.  I disagree.

There is no evidence in the New Yorker article that suggests Nicholas White went to Anguilla on his lawyers’ advice.  Actually, there is good reason to believe otherwise.

Firstly:  According to The New Yorker, Nicholas White returned to his office to find a nasty letter taped to his computer by his colleagues, berating him for disappearing without saying anything to anyone.  If this is what caused White to decide to spend eight weeks away without leave, the loss of his job should not have come as a surprise.

If White’s lawyers got involved when White got back from his extended vacation, they may well have actually made his situation a bit better by obtaining a settlement for him, even if it wasn’t the $25 Million that he demanded.

Secondly:  To advise a client to misrepresent his or her injuries so that it appears that the damages to which the client might be entitled are greater than they are is to falsify evidence.  It would be very surprising indeed if White’s lawyers would risk their reputations and licenses by advising him to take that course of action.

I will say this, however:  Sometimes, clients become so fixated on a course of action that they can’t see that it isn’t in their best interests.  The most valuable service a lawyer can offer is to see what the client can’t.  The lawyer’s highest obligation is to give the advice that they believe, in their best judgment, will protect the client’s best interests.

I have great difficulty believing that Nicholas White’s lawyers would have overlooked that obligation.