Julie Rice | Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer

How did you build a successful practice?
By being patient in the long haul, always having a sense of urgency where my client’s best interest would well be served with that attitude, networking with out first rate attorneys, and knowing when a case I had was over my head and when it was time to bring in a more experience attorney if it was an area of law in which I was not intimately familiar and where the client’s interest would best be served, and always putting my client’s needs first.

What should clients look for in a lawyer?
An attorney that treats their case with a sense of importance, urgency and that they genuinely care about the process and the outcome, a lawyer that can at least attempt to walk a mile in the client’s shoes, one who is a good listener and actually listens to the client, good communication from both parties (client and attorney), knowledge, experience, professionalism, trust, loyalty and expertise.

How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases?
It is imperative to a case. If an attorney doesn’t know the basics, then the attorney certainly doesn’t know, or is going to have a hard time learning, the more complicated issues of a case. If an attorney is faced with a case in which that attorney has little or no knowledge of how to handle that type of case, then it is time to turn that case over to another attorney that does have that toolbox of knowledge and expertise. It is completely ethical for attorneys, in Georgia, to refer cases to other attorneys and there are many referral arrangements that can be made depending on the circumstance such as completely turning the case over to another attorney and withdrawing from the case entirely, or bringing someone in who the attorney can co-counsel with in the case, and just about anything in between. Of course, the client makes the ultimate decision and when any type of arrangement such as this is being made the client needs to be involved, need to agree, and needs to understand the terms of the arrangement, and the role of each attorney involved as well as the role of the client and the responsibility of each attorney to the client and visa versa.

What information can you provide in a free phone consultation?
I can provide general statements of law, give ideas of what a person can do in their particular situation, I like to give the person as many free resources that I can think of that might be available to help them, and if it’s a case that I would not handle, then I like to give them 1-3 names of other attorneys who would most likely be interested in their case. What I can not, and will not do, is give legal advice. It’s a fine line but I have been doing this a long time and if I think I am getting close to the line I will tell the caller that answering that certain question could be construed as giving legal advice, but I will also try and leave the caller with something that isn’t legal advice but still helps them move forward with their issues such as a resource, a piece of information that they may not know about, and the like.

What information do you need in a free phone consultation?
I will generally start out by asking the person’s first and last name, and best contact information (in case we get disconnected). If I remember, I will ask them where they found my name but I am not as good about that as I should be. I will then ask them, “How can I help you? Please tell me what is going on.” I listen carefully, ask questions when I need more information, and then if it’s a case that I would be interested in learning more about I invite the person to join me for a face to face meeting for approximately and hour and what documentation I would like to see during that time. If it’s not a case that I think I would be the best fit for, then I will explain that to the potential client and give them the names of 1-3 other attorneys who I think would be a good fit and give them those attorneys numbers if I have them. Finally, I ask them if they have any other questions and is there any other way that I can help them.

What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community?
What makes me different from other lawyers in my community is first and foremost that I am much better looking; just kidding. Seriously, attorneys in the community all serve a purpose and no two attorneys are the same (thank goodness!!) just as no two clients are the same and not every client is a good fit for every attorney for good reasons. I do believe that I have a tremendous sense of urgency that some other attorneys don’t. It’s their style, and mine is my style. I am very detail oriented. I can be very tough but I do know when to back off. I also take care of my clients and am although I think it’s important to know your opposing counsel and his or her strengths and weaknesses, I do not think it is something worth taking advantage of since it plays a small role in how things work out for your client. How you take care of your client is what makes the biggest most single difference in how the case comes out for your client.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The most rewarding aspect of my job is that it is not boring. I meet the most fascinating people from clients, judges, people from other companies in the legal community, other attorneys, and I learn a lot about life every day.

What are your other interests in addition to law?
My family whom I love spending every spare minute with and that is my wonderful son, my husband, my parents, my step-parents, I love the outdoors and taking my two dogs for walks, I love my cat and my bird, I love photography, I was once a Canadian and U.S. National Champion Arabian Horse rider in my younger years and I still have a passion for horses. We live a mile from a well known racing track and I love to go watch the beautiful horses and could spend hours and hours there taking photographs. I love the outdoors. I love the news. I love reading books of all kinds and watching movies whether it be at home or in the theatre. I also love music and going to live venues but don’t do that as much anymore. I love flowers and gardening as well. I love to walk, bike, and hike as well. This list could go on and on!!

Are you involved in your community?
I am involved in the community with my son’s school. I also have certain areas of law in which I do charge a fee to do the work, but then I donate the fee to the charity of my choice. Two (2) of my favorite charities are Autism Speaks, Susan Koman's Fight for the Cure (Breast Cancer). I also like to walk for these charities as well.

• Member | State Bar of Georgia
  Member | Supreme Court of Georgia
  Member | Court of Appeals of Georgia
  Member | Northern District of Georgia

• Subject Matter Expert | DeVry University

• Medical malpractice
  Birth Brain Injury : $ 3.7 million dollar settlement

• A case in which I made a big difference was a case in which the husband and wife were both members of the military and were expecting their first child. The child was born but there were many difficulties with the delivery of the child, and the child was not doing well (not able to hold her head up, eat properly, cry, etc.). This young father had done an excellent job of documenting everything from the delivery of his daughter. He attempted to contact over 5 attorneys and NOBODY would look at his case because it was a Federal Tort Claims Case (when a military person sues the a military doctor the case falls under the Federal Tort Claims Act) and, therefore, the most that an attorney can collect as a contingency in a Federal Tort Claims Case is 25% (the usual contingency fee is 33.33% before a lawsuit is filed, 40% once a lawsuit is filed, and 50% if the case goes to trial). Needless to say, this man was distraught. He was not a doctor but he knew that something had gone terribly wrong during the birth of his child and that those errors should have been prevented and that his daughter would now suffer a lifetime due to the negligence of the doctors. I was working late at the office on night when this young man called me. I told him to bring in his notes the next day and that I would talk to him about his case. I too agreed that there had been several errors during delivery of this baby and that the child’s problems were, most likely, the direct result of those errors. I also knew that the Military was not going to fight this case to a trial and that is was going to cost a good deal of money. Being that I did not have the funds at the time for such a massive undertaking, I did what I do best, I started making calls. After having been turned down a handful of times myself, I finally found the perfect firm for this case. This firm fully funded the case, took the case to trial, even assisted the family in times of need, and won a victory of $ 3.7 million dollars for this family. I was a big part of that by working tirelessly to find the right firm for this couple and Iwill forever be proud of that case.

• Legal Matters | Businesses may be liable for injuries even if someone was drinking | Fall 2013

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