Florida Attorneys is always looking for portfolio recovery attorneys. Portfolio refers to any items recovered in a case. These can be settlement amounts, charges, fees and interest. Most often when a case is settled with an out of court settlement the lawyer agrees to submit to the state a summary of their case. The attorney for the plaintiff is referred to as the “allo” and any other attorney on both sides of the case is referred to as the “Defensive Lawyer”.
In most cases these documents are filed in the county where the lawyer was retained.
However, there are instances where the paperwork is delivered to the Defense Lawyer. There are some portfolio recovery attorneys that do not maintain any inventory or records of the items recovered during a trial. The paperwork is simply not stored in the same manner that inventory would be maintained. If such an attorney is retained, the litigation department will perform an inventory review to determine if the client’s item is recoverable. The results of this inventory review may determine whether or not the attorney retains the item to be recovered.
When examining portfolio recovery cases in Florida, it is important to note that most cases end with a jury award.
Therefore, the actual value of items recovered is a very important issue. Florida Attorneys who retains the plaintiff’s portfolio often obtain expert witness testimony at trial to help determine the value of their client’s items. This is often done through the use of a Calico or comparable grading system. The outcome of the testimony and the valuation is used by the Defense Lawyer to offset any possible losses.
There are many reasons why a portfolio recovery attorney may not retain all or a portion of a case’s portfolio.
Many Florida Attorneys believes that it is far too time consuming to maintain these files and allow them to get “skeletons in the closet”. If an attorney retains all of a case’s portfolio they feel that it is more likely that the case will settle out of court and they will not have to retain any further work or cost. On the other hand, if the case is a complex litigation the Defense Lawyer may find that keeping some of the portfolio is necessary in order to obtain necessary witnesses and/or other evidence needed for their position.
In the majority of portfolio recovery cases the lawyers are not actually the ones retrieving the portfolio; instead the Discovery Attorney is responsible for retrieving it. The Discovery Attorney will review all discovery that are received in the case and any written reports. He will also review any photographs that may be associated with the case.
When interviewing potential portfolio candidates it is important to ask the following questions:
Have they had any experience with this type of litigation? How many cases like yours do they currently represent? What types of cases do they typically handle? Do they have experience with the process involved in retrieving lost documents and/or property? Have they ever had to recover a damaged or missing document?
The Florida Bar Association’s (FBA) Appellate Practice makes specific guidelines for handling portfolio recovery in Florida.
These guidelines include: Collection and Retention of Portfolio, Advertising and Marketing the recovered item, Filing a complaint and motion in Florida courts, and Filing an action in an out-of-state court. The Florida Bar Association (FBA) also has very detailed information on their website about their portfolio recovery policies. Most bar associations will provide a list of their members.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in this area of law then you may want to contact the Florida State Bar Association, Largo Office, Fort Lauderdale Division, or St. Lucie Office. They have a portfolio retrieval protocol that is specifically designed for the needs of the Florida Bar. Before becoming a member you should contact the Bar Association and obtain as much information as possible about the organization and their policies. This will ensure that you are prepared for when you choose to pursue a career in this area of the law.
