Despite changes both locally and nationally that some say have resulted in lower fees for attorneys, personal injury and workers’ compensation remain a strong niche market for legal professionals.
Robert V. Ward, dean of Southern New England Law School in North Dartmouth, Mass., said this year’s course on workers’ compensation was one of the most popular offerings at the school. Taught by well-known Massachusetts lawyer George Kechs, Ward said many students see finding a niche like workers compensation as the fastest road to success.
"I think this is definitely an aspiration for students," he said. "Everyone has to find a niche where they can make a living for themselves in the Commonwealth. What happens here is people develop sub-specialties and this is one of those hot areas."
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According to Bruce Kogan, dean of the Ralph R. Papitto School of Law at Roger Williams University in Bristol, an interest in helping individuals who have been hurt or harmed is leading many young attorneys to get into the field of personal injury law, which includes workers’ compensation.
"This is something that develops after law school," he said. "We expose them to the idea as a part of our courses on tort, but what I have seen is some individuals end up handling workers’ compensation cases early in their career and then become more adept at it."
Steven Minicucci, an associate with the Providence-based firm of John Calvino Law Associates and the incoming president of the Trial Lawyers Association of Rhode Island agreed.
"This is not a garden variety practice," he said. "You can’t just put a shingle out and begin practicing in this area. It’s such a statutory-driven practice. On average I would say it takes a practitioner who has been at it, and done his or her homework, two to three years in a practice to see most of the issues come their way."
Years ago lawyers who successfully tried and won workers’ compensation cases were often handsomely rewarded, but both Kogan and Minicucci agree it’s not that way today.
Minicucci said changes made to the Rhode Island workers’ compensation system beginning in 1992 have had dramatic effects on the practice – including making it less lucrative for attorneys.
"When the changes came into effect, it changed the dynamics of workers’ compensation," he said. "It made it more difficult to get access to certain rights for some people and in general we saw a downturn in benefits."
According to Kogan it’s not just Rhode Island that is seeing smaller settlements – it’s something that is happening nationwide.
"What I hear people saying nationally is that the attorney’s fees are getting restricted by workers’ compensation courts," he said. "At the end of a case, judges are looking with more scrutiny at the work that has been done and saying that the fees need to be trimmed."
Kogan said that while some might see diminishing profit as a disincentive to practice workers’ compensation law, what he is finding instead is the exact opposite.
"The changes that brought about lower attorney’s fees have also brought more expeditious conclusions," he said. "Lawyers are feeling a satisfaction because they are finishing more cases."
