- Plaintiff’s form: Authorization regarding employment and education records;
- Defense form: Authorization regarding employment and educations records; and
Form Authorizations for Employment / Education Info (Packet) gives you:
- Forms for both plaintiff and defense. You want your client to give you maximum authority to get information. You don’t want your client to give the adversary anything except a bare minimum authority to see records. You don’t want employers and educators thinking your client wants them to have private conversations with your adversary. That’s why any litigator should have two forms — one for your client to give you; the other for those times when you have to give the adversary an authorization for employment or education records.
- Time. A good legal form saves you time. Don’t reinvent the wheel, and don’t waste time when you have more important things to do.
- A “Best Practice”: You can delegate a large part of the process of “get authorization so we can have have the employer give us information.”
- A Bonus for plaintiff counsel! Self-builder for value of lost time: A letter to employers that puts on auto-pilot the process of computing the value of lost time of a client who was employed at the time of bodily injury.
Both plaintiff and defense counsel frequently overlook taking a quick look at the employment and education records of the plaintiff. It’s easy and cheap for the plaintiff’s attorney to have their client sign an authorization and then have office staff get the records by a simple letter request. It’s harder for the defense counsel to get the plaintiff to give an authorization for the defense to get education or employment records, but some defense firms have found it a good practice to always inquire for the plaintiff’s signed authorization.
Records not only may be primary evidence of work or education before the injury, but also may lead counsel to witnesses that the plaintiff has not thought to mention, but who have jury credibility and can testify to the good health and habits of the plaintiff before the injury. Indeed, a work supervisor or teacher may be the most effective witness on the effect of an injury on work or education.
Form Authorizations for Employment / Education Info (Packet) is available for only $18!
