What’s that mean for you?

It makes a difference when you’re hiring a lawyer.

The reality is that while the number of “litigation” lawyers or “trial lawyers” have been on the rise, the actual number of lawyers who have actually participated in a jury trial has been plummeting.  Lawyers calling themselves “litigators” may file lawsuits and do discovery and go through alternative dispute resolution and settle cases, but most rarely, if ever, see a jury.

A recent Texas Bar Journal reported on a survey of lawyers who called themselves litigators.  Of those with ten years of experience, 30 percent had NEVER tried a case to a jury.  And perhaps even more remarkable, only 36 had tried two or more cases to a jury.  That means that almost one third of the lawyers calling themselves litigators had never had a jury trial and another third had only had one trial.

Unfortunately, when you’re hiring a lawyer, you may never know whether the lawyer has ever tried a case or whether the lawyer has ultimate plans to just settle your claims.  This can often affect the ultimate recovery that you make.

Some of us are trying to do something about it.  I’m proud to be an active member of the Capital Area Trial Lawyers’ Association (I’m the immediate past president).  We have started giving out a “Warrior Award” to our members who take cases to jury trials.  This is a way of acknowledging those of us who have actually tried cases, and a way to encourage other lawyers to take their cases to trial.  We have also started a system where lawyers help one another with voir dire or other parts of the case to make trying cases a little easier.

I certainly don’t think our system will change the face of the state’s lawsuits, but I do hope it can help provide better representation for injured persons throughout Central Texas.

Remember to stay safe in your local communities and in school zones.  In Austin, the Austin Police Department will engage in a Back To School traffic safety initiative through Sept. 6th.  You’ll see more officers patrolling school zones and looking for drivers who are speeding, using cell phones, and failing to yield to pedestrians and buses.

Around the state, drivers should also be warned that fines are increasing for illegally passing school buses.  Effective September 1, the maximum fine for a first offense will increase from $1,000 to $1,250.  If you receive two tickets for passing a bus, your license may be suspended for up to six months.  And always remember that a ticket for illegally passing a bus can’t be dismissed through a driver’s ed course.

If you’re a parent, make sure your kids are at the bus stop early and that they don’t misbehave while waiting for the bus.  And don’t forget to make sure that they check the street multiple times before crossing the street.

The lawsuit claims that the disk drive makers shared information about prices, production and sales, and agreed to set prices and rig bids for their products sold in the United States. Dell claims that as a result, it was sold disk drives at inflated prices.

According to Dell, the price fixing affected billions of dollars in purchases over a time period from 2004 to 2010. The lawsuit accuses the disk drive makers of breach of contract and violation of U.S. antitrust law. Under the provisions of antitrust law, Dell is seeking triple damages.

In 2011, the Justice Department said that Hitachi-LG pleaded guilty to rigging bids and fixing prices and agreed to pay a $21.1 million fine.

Dell has also named Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV, BenQ Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp., and Toshiba Corp. as defendants in the lawsuit.

Dell is the largest private employer in Central Texas, with about 14,000 workers in the area. The company is the third-largest personal computer manufacturer in the world and is number 38 on the Fortune 500 list of large publicly-traded and closely-held companies. The company was founded by Michael Dell in Austin in 1984 and is one of the world’s largest tech companies.

Gregory D. Jordan is a business lawyer and business litigation attorney in Austin, TX. To learn more, visit http://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

According to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, the manufacturers shared information about sales, pricing and production and agreed to rig bids and fix prices for their products sold in the United States. As a result, Dell said, the company was charged inflated prices for disk drives it bought from the manufacturers.

The lawsuit claims that billions of dollars of purchases over several years were affected. The companies are accused of breach of contract and violation of U.S. antitrust laws. Under antitrust law, Dell is seeking triple damages for the overcharges.

Dell is Central Texas’ largest private employer, with about 14,000 workers in the area. The company is the third-largest manufacturer of personal computers in the world, after HP and Lenovo. Optical drives are components of personal computers and Blu-ray and DVD players. In 2011, the Justice Department said that Hitachi-LG pleaded guilty to fixing prices and rigging bids for disk drives, agreeing to pay a $21.1 million fine.

According to the Justice Department, Hitachi-LG and other companies conspired to fix prices for disk drives to be sold to Dell during a period from 2004 to 2009. Hitachi-LG is a joint venture of Hitachi Ltd., based in Tokyo, and LG Electronics Inc., based in Seoul. According to Dell’s lawsuit, four Hitachi-LG executives pleaded guilty to participation in the price-fixing conspiracy.

The lawsuit also names as defendants Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV, based in Amsterdam; BenQ Corp., based in Taiwan; Samsung Electronics Co., based in Suwon, South Korea; and Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., both based in Tokyo. The defendant companies declined comment, citing the pending litigation.

The lawsuit comes at a time when Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of the company, is leading a push to take the company private at a bid of $24.4 billion, or $13.65 per share. Other large Dell shareholders have said they are prepared to make a different offer to investors to take over the company, which would then continue to be publicly traded.

Dell, founded in Austin, Texas in 1984, is one of the world’s largest tech companies, employing more than 100,000 people worldwide. The company is listed as number 38 in the Fortune 500 list of top publicly traded and closely held companies.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin business attorney and business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit http://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.