2025 Winner of the Legal Ethics Scholarship

Tiwajope Awomolo

Tiwajope’s analysis of the practice of barratry highlights the importance of professional responsibility for lawyers. For those who do not follow these guidelines, there must be consequences for their actions, as lawyers are meant to uphold the law. Congratulations, Tiwajope, we appreciate your perspective on this topic!

Read Their Essay Here:

In the U.S, accident victims cannot focus on recovery because they’re either harassed at the hospital or at home by phone. This is not a new phenomenon but the attempts to solicit business have become more exasperating with increased phone capabilities and desperation for clients. Lawyers that harass accident victims after an accident are referred to as “ambulance chasers.” The “case runners” are people hired to seek out victims either in person or via phone. Since case runners are not lawyers, they are not held to the same ethical standards. Lawyers that perform as ambulance chasers or hire case runners should be fined.

Earlier this year, Friedland & Associates was held accountable for 130 unsolicited live and recorded telephone solicitation calls. The calls continued long after the plaintiff, Helmuth, had requested to end contact. The case takes place in Florida where case running, and ambulance chasing are illegal. According to The National Law Review, Friedland moved to dismiss the suit arguing that the complaint did not identify where the phone calls came from and when the opt out occurred in relation to the 130 alleged calls (Troutman, 2025). Fortunately for Mr. Helmuth, the Court refused to dismiss the complaint. The case is ongoing and both parties are required to file a mediation report.

Some law firms may argue that the best way to reach newly injured clients is by ambulance chasing, paying for hospital reports, and calling victims at home. The law firms that partake in such despicable practices hurt the profession. As law students, we are required to take professional responsibility classes, and I believe this would be an effective way to curb ambulance chaser’s bad behavior. Professional responsibility also known as legal ethics provides boundaries for legal professionals to minimize the damage done by unprofessional lawyers. The American Bar Association provides, Model Rules of Professional Conduct: Preamble & Scope within their website. Rule 7.3 of Model Rules of Professional Conduct states, “A lawyer shall not solicit professional employment by live person-to-person contact when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s or law firm’s pecuniary gain,” and the only exception is when the person already has a relationship with the lawyer (American Bar Association, 2019).

Without a pre-established relationship, lawyers are adding additional stress to victims trying to recover. To limit the number of lawyers willing to harass victims, it is imperative that state courts within the U.S agree to penalties for lawyers participating in ambulance chasing and similar practices. Ambulance chasing is illegal in 21 states and the firms that participate in it are usually held accountable for their actions. However, it would be better to have laws that cover ambulance chasing in every state.

Finally, lawyers are meant to uphold the law, not break it for financial gain. The lawyers that participate in case running should have to forfeit a percentage of their earning. If those that have been harassed report them, they should have to give the forfeited money to the victims. This would help to deter lawyers in firms that value money over the experience of their clients. The penalties and required professional responsibility classes should work well with decreasing the lawyers willing to commit barratry.