Experienced employment lawyers all have anecdotes about what they discovered about a claimant/plaintiff by subpoenaing medical, psychiatric, school, and former employer records. These records may contain damaging admissions attributable to your client-to-be, such as that he or she is in over his or her head in the new position, has lied to the employer on an important topic, has made a false claim of harassment to set up the employer for a lawsuit, or has been hallucinating at work or become psychotic. Admissions like these can quickly kill a client's claim for damages against a current or former employer.
I once filed a lawsuit for a client and didn't find out about harmful secrets buried in her medical and psychiatric records until admissions in the discovery and trial phase of the case. I will never forget how stupid I felt not knowing all of these nasty things about my own client until late in the game. Ouch! I vowed never to let myself be set up for a similar embarrassing situation in future.
Before filing a case for a plaintiff in an employment dispute, I now always secure the available medical, psychiatric, school, and former employer records by having my client sign an authorization for them. If possible, I require my client-to-be to secure the records or pay for them because they can be expensive. When these records arrive, I read them thoroughly and promptly. I don't file them away without first reading them because I know I will forget about them and will later find myself in a litigation position no better than if I hadn't even bothered to order them at all. Follow-through is important.
If troubling entries emerge and my client cannot adequately explain the issue away, I take a pass on that case. The bottom line is that you are always in control of the case selection part of your practice. Taking on a reasonable amount of due diligence before you say yes to filing a suit is part of your professional duty to your client, your firm/partners, and, most important, to yourself.
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