At some point in their careers, every lawyer will end up defending a bad guy. If they do their jobs right, they'll win, even if they don't want to. Same goes for unfair worker's compensation cases, ugly divorces, custody trials, and malevolent insurance companies. We asked lawyers from around the world to share the cases they regret winning. These courtroom successes will haunt them - and us - for a lifetime.
Pixabay
37. Money does horrible things to people.
We settled a case for several million dollars for a girl whose father was accidentally killed. The mother (who was divorced from the father) tried every way possible to get the money, but it was placed into a blocked account until the girl turned 18.
The DAY she turned 18, mom told her they were going to transfer the money to a "better account." Mom transferred it to her own account and fled the country WITHOUT the daughter. Screwed her own kid over for money, and essentially made her kid an orphan.
36. It's not the dog's fault.
Family law is a little different in that you never really "win" per se. You may get more favorable rulings or better terms, but unless the opposing party did something illegal or mindbogglingly stupid it's never a decisive "win" really. Although I did have a case where my client fought really hard for the dog, and then ended up turning him over to a shelter. What a piece of work. The ex-wife received an "anonymous" tip and was able to get him back quickly.
35. Too much of a good thing.
As a personal injury attorney, I've seen a few clients win the "blue collar lotto" or getting more money than they reasonably know how to deal with. I do my best to educate them, but my job is to try and maximize their recovery, not teach them finance. I have definitely contributed to a few bad habits, because they inevitably drink it all away, or gamble, or worse.
34. Fate is unpredictable.
This is a strange one. Had a client where the Crown was seeking 3-4 months jail. Judge for some reason takes sympathy on this guy with a bad record and gives him a fine. Serious charge but the facts were not particularly egregious and there was no minimum sentence. Did my submissions make a difference? Perhaps. A month or two later later, I find out he died accidentally. If he had gone to jail, he might still be alive.
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash
KEEP ON READING
![](https://www.thespicychefs.com/storage/app/media/thespicychefs/2024/9/3/rude.png)