Putting WRONG in Wrongful Death: Lawyers and Agents Victimize Victims and Unethically Solicit Cases

When I did civil defense work, wrongful death and brain injury cases were the ones you wanted. The insurance carrier really didn’t care how much you billed them if you explained your roadmap to save them money. The cases were potentially worth millions or tens of millions of dollars, so damage control was their goal. Many insurance carriers wanted that settlement to be as low as possible.
Think about that. An insurance company has put a value on a case- say $50,000. Injury cases also have metrics- computer programs and jury verdict reports can guide what its worth. Yet, your own insurance carrier may even hide the amount they are willing to pay from their own insured, hoping to pay less. It’s why I get frustrated at mediation as a victim’s lawyer. If you know the number, and it’s fully approved, tell us. It’s frankly our client’s money you’ve been holding. Yet, under the law, it’s merely negotiation and the victim could always post something on facebook or get caught in surveillance doing something which diminishes their claim. Or they could hire inferior lawyers who settle for less for a number of reasons.
Wrongful death cases are much worse. I have been in dozens of living rooms. As an empath, I will frequently cry during the outpouring of love and loss. I put myself in their shoes- what if it happened to my child? Yet, I also know because of systemic unfairness in our country, many of my clients have shockingly high odds at tragedy. When I ran for city council, I knocked on two back-to-back doors on the eastside of Jacksonville- both told me stories of their children being murdered. I was careful to not talk about what I do or offer help as anything other than a city council candidate. It was all I could do. Ethics matter.
That brings me to the point of this blog entry. I am calling it "The WRONG in Wrongful Death." Solicitation. Victimization of the Victim. Abuse of trust. When I first met with Ron Davis, I was a new father and he just lost his 17 year old son Jordan. We sat his his living room and cried. Jordan’s mother, (now US Congresswoman) Lucy McBath would later say in the Emmy Award winning documentary Armor of Light that I was young, but had heart. I went everywhere with them and we got justice for Jordan.
Along the way, I met other wrongful death lawyers. I met Chris Chestnut on the set of a HLN TV legal expert panel. Over the next year, we’d get calls from victims and many told us that Chris or Chris’s agent would come to the wakes and funerals and try and sign them up. I refused to appear on the same shows as him once I learned of a Florida Bar investigation. You can read more about it on his Florida Bar page- www.floridabar.org/about/sect.... My clients and other victims stood up to him and Chris Chestnut was permanently disbarred.
However, there was one name which kept popping up who helped Chris. Alphonso McClendon. He was Chestnut’s right hand man. The Florida Bar claimed:
“On October 4, 2009, Tamiqa Taylor was murdered at a home in Kissimmee, Florida. The murder received extensive media attention. During Tamiqa’s wake on October 9, 2009, her mother, Belinda Greene-Strachan, was approached by a man named Alphonso McClendon II. Mr. McClendon introduced himself as an employee of Respondent (Christoper Chestnut), asked her if she was represented by an attorney, told her that Respondent and his firm would represent her in a wrongful death action on behalf of her daughter and gave her Respondent’s contact information. Several days later, Mr. McClendon came to Ms. Greene-Strachan’s home. He told her that Respondent wanted to represent her in the wrongful death action and gave her an engagement letter. Based on Mr. McClendon’s representations that Respondent could obtain a large amount of money for Ms. Greene-Strachan, she signed the engagement letter.”
You can’t do that. Folks, a lawyer can’t call you, knock on your door or solicit your case. You have to call them.
After Chris was being investigated, the State of Tennesee’s Attorney General brought a lawsuit against Alphonso McClendon and the Witherspoon Law Group.
“These individuals-who did not even live or work in Tennessee-preyed upon victim’s families while in the darkest days of their grief.” And, “This should send a message: misrepresenting yourself and attempting to practice law when you are not licensed here, will not be tolerated.”
Mr. McClendon is now working for Marwan Porter as Chief Business Development Officer. Another client has alleged this has happened again, which we are addressing with the court.
Folks, we have to stand up to this. It’s now so commonplace that some lawyers think it’s okay. Or worth the risk to get the high profile case. And victims suffer or get their case derailed if they complain. All too often the lawyers do inadequate work or settle for too little in order to move on to the next one. Choose your lawyers. Don’t let them choose you.

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R.I.P Jordan Davis 🙏