Conciliation Panel Subcommittee
| Publication year | 1993 |
| Pages | 249 |
| Citation | Vol. 22 No. 2 Pg. 249 |
1993, February, Pg. 249. Conciliation Panel Subcommittee
The persistent popularity of lawyer jokes reflects the widespread public view that attorneys are self-interested, rude and rapacious; that the only way we can be restrained is through public degradation. This is a distortion to which we contribute. We cannot even talk to each other without alienating one another.
A conciliation panel is one tool for defusing animosity within the legal profession, and a very dramatic one. The dialogue that results from the work of such a panel demonstrates that we can, as lawyers, take the lead ourselves to improve our profession, and have the courage to evaluate ourselves with the scrutiny of our fellow professionals in order to achieve that improvement. This is a benefit to both the bar and the public.
In Colorado, both Boulder and El Paso Counties have had voluntary conciliation panels in place for over two years. Various other forms of peer review are working throughout the United States. These are the kinds of problems our local panels are now handling:
1. Lawyer A writes to his client to collect an outstanding bill. The client hires Lawyer B. Lawyer B responds with an extremely nasty letter to Lawyer A threatening sanctions under the Fair Debt Collection Act, but raises no legitimate defenses to the bill. Lawyer A writes Lawyer B a conciliatory letter. Lawyer B responds with a scathing attack. Lawyer A, not knowing what to do and concerned about his position, contacts the conciliation panel and, wanting to know if he is out of line, asks for intervention. The panel member contacts Lawyer B and suggests that Lawyer B not personalize his attack on Lawyer A, but concentrate on how the debt can be retired in the best interests of their mutual client.
2. Lawyer A mailed a settlement offer to Lawyer B a month before trial, but received no response. Lawyer A gets no response to his follow-up letters or phone calls. On the eve of trial, Lawyer A asks the conciliation panel for intervention. A panel member contacts Lawyer B who responds that he has been overwhelmed with work and has not had an opportunity to respond to the settlement offer. Settlement discussions commence and the case is resolved before trial.
3. A good lawyer's reputation for...
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