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One word: DON’TI tried using it occasionally when I first started practicing law in the mid-1980’s. EVERYBODY thinks it’s FRAUDULENT.A J.D. degree started out as a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with the title “pumped up” in the 1930’s in the hopes the term “doctor” would give lawyers more prestige.For licensing, states first started requiring a four-year LLB degree. When too many LLB-holders could not pass the bar, states started requiring 3 years of college to enter an LLB program. That enabled law schools to better determine which applicants probably could not actually become lawyers.Eventually, for “hopefully more prestige” reasons, the view became, “physicians and dentists have to have three years undergrad, and their graduate degree is called a doctorate. A post-college law degree should be called a doctorate too!”One reason the title “Doctor” never caught on in the legal field was that judges and senior partners at the time all had the “Bachelor of Laws” degree. And “here’s this kid straight outta school — calling himself ‘doctor’! I’ve been a judge 20 years and can’t use that title!”The only difference between the graduate-level LLB and a JD was the name. So for “law-field political” reasons young lawyers using the title doctor never caught on.Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas was one of the last to change the degree name, around 1965. Around 1986 I worked for an “old-time lawyer” in Houston and he said that decades after he had graduated, one day in the mail he got a new diploma from his law school showing the degree as Juris Doctor. No extra study, etc., they just sent out new diplomas to all the folks who had graduated before the school changed the degree name.In the legal field there is what is considered a “real” doctorate—a Doctor of Juridical Science, JSD degree. Like a PhD, a JSD holder specializes, has to write a dissertation, etc. The only people who get JSD’s are law professors and the only reason they get them is if they’re required for tenure.Also see: Is a Juris Doctor degree considered a doctorate degree?Technically, a law degree, a dental degree, a medical degree, and a veterinary medicine degree are called a “first professional doctorate”. All of them mainly consist of survey courses. One course in anatomy, one course in pharmacology, one course in real property, one course in constitutional law, etc.But after getting their MD degree, physicians go through an internship and several years of “GME” — Graduate Medical Education.Most of the general public still think our degree is a Bachelor of Laws (that is the entry-level degree in the U.K.), so when they hear us use the term “doctor” they consider it fraudulent.There are other doctorates where it’s considered “not appropriate” to use the term Doctor. Pharmacists have a doctor of pharmacy degree, PharmD, but don’t use the title doctor.In some cases the same with DNP, the fairly new Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Like a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), DNP’s are authorized to prescribe medicine, etc. In some states, because of pressure from MD’s at the legislature, DNP’s are not allowed to introduce themselves as “doctor”. (In states where it is allowed, they commonly say something like, “I’m your nurse, Dr. Smith. I have a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.” They go into that detail because otherwise patients might think they are misrepresenting, since most people interpret “doctor” as “physician”.)So, the short answer (… hey … I’m a lawyer …) is don’t.In other answers I’ve addressed the problems with being a lawyer in the U.S. nowadays.If you or someone you know is considering going to law school, PLEASE have them read and check out the links below, especially the first one and the ones by Ravi and Haddock—In the U.S. nowadays, for most lawyers law is a terrible field—the field has been massively overloaded for generations and continues to get worse.And the small percentage of lawyers who wind up in “Big Law” firms and the vast majority of solo- or small-firm (1–5) practitioners don’t go on Quora, Reddit, etc., talking about the bleak realities of practicing law in the U.S.Many law graduates have huge difficulty getting and keeping jobs, even years later. Most firms have 1–3 lawyers. Those firms don’t hire lawyer employees.Nowadays everybody’s a specialist, even though generally not board-certified. That massively increases time and complexity because specialists know minutia and have the research, pre-written materials, etc., to back up their arguments.Also, “everybody’s a specialist means that if you lose most of your clients in YOUR field, you can’t just start doing work in some other field—because you don’t know the details of practice in THAT field. And there are LOADS of people who DO know. And you don’t have the CONNECTIONS to start getting that other work coming in.There also are VERY large CULTURAL and POLITICAL differences and attitudes between different parts of the country. In the South and Southwest (Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas) “Bless your heart” ends with an implied “… YOU’RE AN IDIOT!!” People from the Northeast (Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey) would think it’s a compliment, not knowing the implied part.Law has not kept up with business realities. Very low hourly rates are $250 per hour. How many people or businesses could afford to pay for just one hour of services per week at that rate? ($13k per year) And that’s just one hour. Many lawyers charge $400+ an hour.Law suits in major metropolitan areas routinely take 18–24 months to conclude—assuming there is not an appeal. Easily 200 hours of legal work. So 400 x 200 = $80k. Clients just won’t pay that or anywhere near.A libertarian attitude has become very widespread in the U.S.—”If I don’t agree with a law I don’t have to follow it—it infringes on my liberty.” And that’s your client. And/or the other side’s client.And businesses just can’t afford to have things “waiting in limbo” possibly for several years while “the law” “catches up”, i.e., 18–24 months for a suit to finish.And “That’s your fault—you’re the lawyer. Make this go away.” “No, I won’t agree to that! It’s not my fault, it’s theirs.” “Why is this taking so long??”And then they don’t want to pay you …In other answers I’ve addressed other problems with being a lawyer in the U.S. nowadays. Rather than repeating myself, check out those too. (Yes, there is some overlap between individual answers.)Issues with going into lawIssues #1: Advice to high schooler. Covers a LOT of the difficulties.Issues #2: If the law doesn't pay well, it does not offer prestige as it used to, there is a glut of lawyers, a shortage of jobs, the work is soul-crushing, and people generally dislike lawyers, why would anyone choose to become a lawyer? What is the reasoning?Issues #3: Harvard graduate Ani Ravi's answer about THE REALITIES OF THE JOB MARKET for people who DIDN’T GRADUATE FROM A TOP-TIER LAW SCHOOL near the top of their class.It's a decade old but even more valid now!Issues #4: Real-world factors in practicing law.Issues #5: Former law school professor Alice Baker's answer describing a typical lawyer’s practice. LSAT. Informational interviewsIssues #6: Retired attorney Frank Anderson's answer about the reality of costs, job situation, etc.Issues #7: Attorney Steven Haddock's answer to Why are lawyers paid so little on averageAlthough Haddock is in Canada he discusses U.S. compensation. Note especially bi-modal distribution.Issues #8: Attorney Jessie Polson's answer about realities of financing and jobsIssues #9: Attorney Andrew Weill's answer about the biggest challenges lawyers faceIssues #10: Outsourcing Consultant Cathrine Troyer's answer to What is the biggest challenge a new lawyer faces?Issues #11: You can’t CHOOSE a practice area.Issues #12: Getting into a “BIG LAW” firm — “rainmaking”(Includes Oct 2020 list of the State Bar of Texas’ set of lectures on “trying to permanently leave law” and “how lawyers can deal with addiction, depression, grief, etc.”)Issues #13: Switching FROM a successful high-paying career. Time and money investment for law school.Issues #14: SOCIETAL CULTURAL CHANGES that have negatively impacted THE PRACTICE OF LAWIssues #15: EXCEPTIONS — when law IS worth going into. What if you’re IN law school? LEAVING law. MOVING elsewhere.Issues #16: Other societal changes. Top law studentsThe Quora topic: Why does it suck to be a lawyer?

CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY is the best college in the North India that offers International Articulation program in a joint effort with US colleges. Chandigarh University offers numerous projects:Universal Summer programsStudy Abroad ProgramsSemester Exchange ProgramsTemporary jobsVolunteer InternshipsAdvanced educationWorked together with USA: Here are the rundown of collegesCollege of Central Arkansas, USAThe University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a state funded college in Conway, Arkansas. Established in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the college is one of the most seasoned in the U.S. province of Arkansas. As the state's just typical school at that point, UCA has truly been the essential wellspring of instructors in Arkansas. UCA is noted for programs in nursing, instruction, exercise based recuperation, business, performing expressions, and brain science.College of North Carolina at Greensboro, USAOur new collusion with "College of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA opens new entryways of chances for you so you can profit by the scholarly incitement of being presented to a tremendous cross area of worldwide perspectives and societies. Gain from the semester trade program and develop your worldwide system.College of Connecticut, USAThe University of Connecticut (UConn) was established in 1881 and is an open land award, National Sea Grant, and National Space Grant research college in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. The essential 4,400-section of land (17.8 km2) grounds is around an a large portion of hour's drive from Hartford and an hour and a half from the worldwide city of Boston. It is a lead college that is positioned as the best open national college in New England and is tied for # 20 in Top Public Schools and # 60 in National Universities in the 2017 U.S. News and World Report rankings.Illinois State UniversityIllinois State University (ISU), established in 1857, is the most seasoned and first state funded college of Illinois and is situated in Normal, Illinois. The University accentuates instructing and is perceived as one of the main ten biggest makers of educators in the US as indicated by the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.The University is one of 12 state funded colleges in Illinois. Its scholarly divisions offer in excess of 160 significant/minor choices in the Colleges of Applied Science and Technology, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Fine Arts, and Mennonite College of Nursing. The Graduate School facilitates 41 master's, pro, and doctoral projects.Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA - Articulation AgreementOld Dominion University otherwise called ODU is an open, co-instructive examination college situated in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, with two satellite grounds in the Hampton Roads zone. It was built up in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary and is currently perhaps the biggest college in Virginia.The Florida State UniversityThe Florida State University is an American open space-award and ocean award research college. Its essential grounds is situated on a 1,391.54-section of land (5.631 km2) grounds in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. One of the country's first class research colleges, Florida State University — with the Carnegie Foundation's most elevated assignment, Doctoral/Research University-Extensive — offers an unmistakable scholarly condition based on its appreciated qualities and one of a kind legacy, inviting grounds on the most seasoned persistent site of advanced education in Florida, title games, and prime area in the core of the state capital.Joining customary quality in expressions of the human experience and humanities with perceived initiative in technical disciplines, Florida State University gives unparalleled chances to understudies and staff through testing scholastics, social disclosure and network cooperationArkansas State UniversityArkansas State University created from a horticultural school established on April 1, 1909 by Act 100 of the 37th Arkansas General Assembly. It was made as one of four Arkansas secondary schools to show farming, cultivation and the craft of material assembling. Today, the college awards bachelor's, ace's and doctoral degrees through 11 degree giving universities. With forefront research capacities, Arkansas State is expanding on its initial hundred years and looking to what's to come. Chandigarh University Inks a MOU with Arkansas State University with a plan to encourage joint examination exercises, personnel and Students Exchange program.Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University is an open coeducational college situated in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was established in 1853. LSU is the leader foundation of the Louisiana State University System, and the biggest establishment of advanced education in Louisiana as far as understudy enlistment. LSU speaks to the biggest foundation of advanced education in the territory of Louisiana and is the main state funded college in the state to be assigned a Carnegie Research University with Very High Research Activity.College of Illinois at ChicagoThe University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-subsidized open exploration escalated college situated in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its grounds is in the Near West Side people group zone, neighboring the Chicago Loop. UIC was framed in 1982 by the combination of two U. of I. grounds: the Medical Center grounds, which goes back to the nineteenth century, and the exhaustive Chicago Circle grounds which supplanted, in 1965, the two-year undergrad Navy Pier grounds that had opened in 1946 to teach bringing veterans back.The State University of New York at AlbanyThe State University of New York at Albany, otherwise called University at Albany or SUNY Albany, is an examination establishment with grounds in Albany, Guilderland, and Rensselaer, New York, United States. Chandigarh University has marked a MOU with University at Albany for an incorporated understudy trade and exploration programs. The understudies of the two nations stands to pick up from the scorched MoU, as they would be qualified for visit each other's Universities during their scholarly residency under the understudy trade program and take an interest in Research undertakings, gatherings and temporary job modules.Illinois Institute of Technology ( IIT), Chicago , USAChandigarh University holds hands with IIT Chicago, USA. The two Universities have marked MoU for understudy's mid year School, Semester Exchange, entry level positions in college grounds, research and Progression, staff trade, joint workshops and gatherings, FDP . Illinois Institute of Technology is a private, innovation centered, research college offering undergrad and advanced educations in building, science, engineering, business, structure, human sciences, applied innovation, and law.Schiller University, Germany and USASchiller International University is a private American college with its fundamental grounds and regulatory home office in Largo, Florida. It has grounds on two mainlands in four nations, each offering its own exceptional encounters to understudies: Largo; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; and Heidelberg, Germany. Established in 1964 by Dr. Walter Leibrecht, and starting at 2012 it gives Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees to understudies from more than 100 nations.College of California, Riverside - United StatesThe University of California, Riverside is one of 10 colleges inside the esteemed University of California framework, and the main UC situated in Inland Southern California. Broadly perceived as one of the most ethnically differing research colleges in the country, UCR is amidst an enormous development spray with new and redesigned offices going ahead line all the time.Youngstown State UniversityArranged in Ohia, USA with best in class 145 innovation driven grounds, Youngstown State University is authorize by Higher Learning Commission and is a changeless individual from North Central Association. Having in excess of 88,000 graduated class of YSU working everywhere throughout the world, the University positions eleventh among Ohio's biggest extensive state funded colleges.College of Mississippi, USAThe University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) is the lead college for the territory of Mississippi. the University of Mississippi offers scholarly degrees to suit any understudy. It has been positioned as one of America's best school purchases by Forbes and probably the best work environment by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The college's Honors College has been named one of America's best.College of North Alabama, USAThe University of North Alabama is the most seasoned state-sanctioned establishment in AlabamaCollege of District Columbia, USAThe main state funded college in the country's capital and the main urban land-award college in the United States, The University of the District of Columbia is focused on an expansive crucial instruction, exploration and network administration.College (Nacional de Colombia), ColumbiaThe Universidad Nacional de Colombia elevates equivalent access to the Colombian instruction framework; it gives the biggest contribution of scholastic projects and prepares capable and socially capable experts. The Universidad Nacional de Colombia includes with seven grounds conveyed in the Colombian domainMarshall UniversityMarshall University is an open exploration college in Huntington, West Virginia. It was established in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.

How much do medical malpractice lawyers make?by Dana SeversonProfessional negligence on the part of a doctor may send you to a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice. These legal professionals are experts in the legal duty a health care provider has when agreeing to treat patients. If care falls below the accepted standards and regulations, a malpractice attorney can help the party secure compensatory and punitive damages. Pay varies by attorney and state.Salary OverviewIn 2012, lawyers earned an average of $130,880 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The top 10 percent of earners made in excess of $187,199 a year, while the bottom 10 percent made less than $54,310 a year. But none of these figures account for specialty -- a factor that has some bearing on earnings. Diploma Guide, an online career guide, sets the salary at a median of $113,000 annually, as of 2011.Malpractice FeesDetermining a precise salary for a medical malpractice lawyer is difficult, since the majority of attorneys in this field are paid a sliding fee for their services. These fees are based on the settlements and vary by state. In Connecticut, for example, lawyers can charge 33.3 percent for the first $300,000, 25 percent for the next $300,000, 20 percent for next $300,000 and so on. As of 2003, an Illinois-based malpractice lawyer can charge 33.3 percent of the first $150,000, 25 percent of the next $850,000 and 20 percent of damages exceeding $1 million. In Oklahoma, the fees are little more clear-cut, with rates not to exceed 50 percent of the net judgment. Tennessee has similar guidelines, with attorneys earning 33.3 percent of the recovery, while California limits medical malpractice lawyers to no more than 40 percent of the first $50,000, 33.3 percent of the next $50,000, 25 percent of the next $500,000 and 15 percent of damages exceeding $600,000.EducationNo matter the specialty, all lawyers follow a similar educational path. It starts with four years in an undergraduate program before moving onto law school -- a three-year commitment. You’ll then take the bar exam to practice. Prerequisites vary by state, but graduating from an American Bar Association-accredited law school is the minimum requirement. Most states also require lawyers participate in a continuing education program throughout their careers.Job OutlookThe BLS expects employment for lawyers as a whole to grow by 10 percent through 2020. This is slower than the national average for all U.S. occupations, an estimated 14 percent. Though the 10-percent growth rate should create almost 74,000 new jobs, competition will be strong. More students are graduating from law school than there are jobs, adds the BLS. Those lawyers willing to relocate to more rural settings should see the greatest prospects.Medical Lawyer Salary 2020 | Medical For Lawyer| Lawyer SalaryAugust 18, 2019Medical Lawyer SalaryFor lawyers with a passion for law and an interest in health care, this expertise can be a perfect match. Medical lawyers’ duties include working with health professionals to formulate case theories, meeting expert witnesses, collecting and analyzing medical records, and malpractice civil cases.Technically, “medical law is not a separate category of law, but a combination of personal injury, medical malpractice and health laws. Some medical lawyers work for hospitals and health clinics, provide advice and guidance on their rights and obligations, and advocate for cases of medical malpractice. Others specialize in representing clients who want to sue health care organizations or individual health professionals.According to Glassdoor Job Search | Find the job that fits your life, medical lawyers and health attorneys receive an average annual salary of $ 150,881; Medical lawyers working with private hospitals often earn even more.Did 'Junk Science' Make John Edwards Rich?(Home | CNSNews) - The superstar trial lawyer accomplishments of John Edwards, which allowed this former millworker to amass a personal fortune, finance his successful U.S. Senate run in 1998 and catapult himself into the 2004 race for president, may have been partially built on "junk science," according to legal and medical experts who spoke with CNSNews.com .Edwards, who with a late surge finished second in Monday's Iowa Caucuses, continues to cite one of his most lucrative legal victories as an example of how he would stand up for "the little guy" if elected president.Edwards became one of America's wealthiest trial lawyers by winning record jury verdicts and settlements in cases alleging that the botched treatment of women in labor and their deliveries caused infants to develop cerebral palsy, a brain disorder that causes motor function impairment and lifelong disability.Although he was involved in other types of personal injury litigation, Edwards specialized in infant cerebral palsy and brain damage cases during his early days as a trial lawyer and with the Raleigh, N.C., firm of Edwards & Kirby.Edwards has repeatedly told campaign audiences that he fought on behalf of the common man against the large insurance companies. But a political critic with extensive knowledge of Edwards' legal career in North Carolina told Home | CNSNews a different story"Edwards always helped the little guy as long as he got a million dollars out of it," said the source, who did not want to be identified.The cause of cerebral palsy has been debated since the 19th century. Some medical studies dating back to at least the 1980s asserted that doctors could do very little to cause cerebral palsy during the birthing process. Two new studies in 2003 further undermined the scientific premise of the high profile court cases that helped Edwards become a multi-millionaire and finance his own successful campaign for the U.S. Senate.Dr. Murray Goldstein, a neurologist and the medical director of the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation, said it is conceivable for a doctor's incompetence to cause cerebral palsy in an infant. "There are some cases where the brain damage did occur at the time of delivery. But it's really unusual. It's really quite unusual," Goldstein said."The overwhelming majority of children that are born with developmental brain damage, the ob/gyn could not have done anything about it, could not have, not at this stage of what we know," Goldstein added.The medical and legal experts with whom Home | CNSNews consulted said each case of cerebral palsy had to be evaluated on its own, but that medical science was increasingly exonerating the doctors involved in the labor and delivery where cerebral palsy resulted.Eldon L. Boisseau of the Kansas-based firm Turner and Boisseau, specializing in defending doctors' insurance companies from medical malpractice lawsuits, agreed that physician-caused cerebral palsy "occurs only rarely.""At the end of the day, I verily believe we will find [the cause of cerebral palsy is] all genetic," Boisseau said in an interview with Home | CNSNews.Dr. John Freeman, a professor of neurology and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., also believes there is little obstetricians can do to prevent cerebral palsy during delivery. "Most cases of cerebral palsy are not due to asphyxia," Freeman told Home | CNSNews."A great many of these cases are due to subtle infections of the child before birth," Freeman said. "That is the cause of the premature labor and the cause of the [brain] damage. There is little or no evidence that if you did a [caesarean] section a short time earlier you would prevent cerebral palsy," he added.'Heart wrenching plea'But some of Edwards' critics say that as a trial lawyer, he relied more on his verbal skills than the latest scientific evidence to persuade juries that the doctors' mistakes had been instrumental in causing the cerebral palsy in the infants.Edwards' trial summaries "routinely went beyond a recitation of his case to a heart-wrenching plea to jurors to listen to the unspoken voices of injured children," according to a comprehensive analysis of Edwards' legal career by The Boston Globe in 2003.The Globe cited an example of Edwards' oratorical skills from a medical malpractice trial in 1985. Edwards had alleged that a doctor and a hospital had been responsible for the cerebral palsy afflicting then-five-year-old Jennifer Campbell.'I have to tell you right now -- I didn't plan to talk about this -- right now I feel her (Jennifer), I feel her presence,' Edwards told the jury according to court records. "[Jennifer's] inside me and she's talking to you ... And this is what she says to you. She says, 'I don't ask for your pity. What I ask for is your strength. And I don't ask for your sympathy, but I do ask for your courage.'"Edwards' emotional plea worked. Jennifer Campbell's family won a record jury verdict of $6.5 million against the hospital where the girl was born -- a judgment reduced later to $2.75 million on appeal. Edwards also settled with Jennifer's obstetrician for $1.5 million.Legal expert Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of the book, The Rule of Lawyers, said Edwards' success in court was due in large part to his mastery of one important trait."Edwards was clearly very good at managing the emotional tenor of a trial and that turns out to be at least as important as any particular skill in the sense of researching the fine points of law," Olson told Home | CNSNews ."These are the skills that you find in successful trial lawyers. They can tell a story that produces a certain emotional response. It's a gift," Olson added.However, Olson believes trial lawyers "have been getting away with an awful lot in cerebral palsy litigation," by excluding certain scientific evidence."[Trial lawyers] have been cashing in on cases where the doctor's conduct probably did not make any difference at all -- cases where the child was doomed to this condition based on things that happened before they ever got to the delivery room," Olson said.'Junk science in the courtroom'Peter Huber, a lawyer and author of the book, Galileo's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom, believes juries are typically manipulated with emotional arguments to aid the plaintiff's case."The jury sees the undisputed trauma first, the disputed negligence second, the undisputed cerebral palsy third. It is a perfect set-up for misinterpreting sequence as cause," Huber wrote.According to Boisseau, the growing body of scientific studies showing that obstetricians are generally blameless in cerebral palsy cases has done nothing to alter the trend of multi-million dollar court settlements. Those settlements are reached, Boisseau said, even though "a lot of the plaintiff's expert science is unsupported, essentially junk science."Many juries never even get to hear about the medical science or the origins of cerebral palsy because "90 percent of suits for obstetrical malpractice are settled" out of court, noted Freeman of Johns Hopkins Hospital.Huber does not expect cerebral palsy cases to fade away, despite the growing body of scientific evidence exonerating doctors."Despite the almost complete absence of scientific basis for these [medical malpractice] claims, cerebral palsy cases remain enormously attractive to lawyers," Huber wrote.The judgments or settlements related to medical malpractice lawsuits that focused on brain-damaged infants with cerebral palsy helped Edwards amass a personal fortune estimated at between $12.8 and $60 million. He and his wife own three homes, each worth more than $1 million, according to Edwards' Senate financial disclosure forms. Edwards' old law firm reportedly kept between 25 and 40 percent of the jury awards/settlements during the time he worked there.According to the Center for Public Integrity, Edwards was able to win "more than $152 million" based on his involvement in 63 lawsuits alone. The legal profession recognized Edwards' achievements by inducting him into the prestigious legal society called the Inner Circle of Advocates, which includes the nation's top 100 lawyers. Lawyers Weekly also cited Edwards as one of America's "Lawyers of the Year" in 1996.'The kids and families I've fought for'Edwards has shifted his emotionally charged speeches from the jury box to the presidential campaign trail and is fond of re-telling the story of how his firm sued on behalf of a cerebral palsy-afflicted boy named Ethan Bedrick in 1996.Ethan, born in North Carolina in 1992, allegedly developed cerebral palsy after a botched delivery. Edwards has explained to audiences at presidential campaign rallies that suing Ethan's insurance carrier, Travelers Insurance Co., to cover the boy's physical therapy was necessary because "Ethan's family had no choice."[The family was] forced to go to court to get their son the care he needed," Edwards has said of the case, which his law firm won.Edwards has repeatedly cited Ethan's case as an example of "the kids and families I've fought for," and in the minds of many political observers positioned himself as the classic David against the insurance industry's Goliath.However, Edwards has also repeatedly failed to mention that he had represented Ethan Bedrick in a lawsuit against the boy's obstetrician a year earlier in 1995. Edwards had alleged that the doctor was negligent in failing to prevent the boy's oxygen deprivation during labor and therefore had caused the boy's cerebral palsy.Edwards settled the malpractice case with the doctor's insurance company less than three weeks into the trial, enabling Ethan's family to get a reported $5 million for medical and living expenses. The case was reportedly the largest medical malpractice settlement in North Carolina history.'I'm proud of that'Edwards is not shy about defending his legal career and says he would gladly put his record up against that of President Bush in this year's general election."The time I spent in courtrooms representing kids and families against, you know, big insurance companies and big drug companies and big corporate America -- I'm proud of that," Edwards told the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes in December 2003.But Edwards' critics have a different view of the man; they say he has repeatedly acted to enrich himself."John Edwards' spin is always -- I am helping the little guy. But he screened his cases to the point that he only helped people that were going to make him richer," said the Home | CNSNews source with extensive knowledge of Edwards' legal career.Dr. Lorne Hall, one of the physicians with whom Edwards reached a confidential settlement in a malpractice case involving cerebral palsy, agreed, telling The Charlotte Observer in 2003 that "[Edwards] knows how to pick cases, and he knows the ones he can win."Hall said Edwards was "very polished, very polite, dressed to the T's, smiling at the ladies." But the anonymous source for this story said Edwards displayed a "belligerent attitude" toward the medical profession."He sued nurses, doctors, hospitals. The reputation he had was -- he never wanted to hear that nobody did anything wrong. If you even walked by the door of an alleged malpractice incident, you were gong to cough up money too," the source said.But John Hood, president of the free-market, Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation said Edwards tailored the evidence in his court cases for maximum impact."In pursuing his client's cases he did what many other trial lawyers do. He bent the available evidence to fit what he wanted to say," Hood told Home | CNSNews . "That is the nature of an advocacy system," Hood addedHood does not fault Edwards for the strategies he used as a trial lawyer."He was an advocate for his clients. It was his job to make the best possible case for them," Hood said.Many legal observers agree that Edwards was simply doing his job and doing it very well.A North Carolina newspaper, The News and Observer, said Edwards "forged a reputation as one of the most skilled plaintiff's attorneys in the business."Retired North Carolina Superior Court Judge Robert Farmer, who heard many of Edwards' arguments in court, had nothing but praise for the abilities of the former trial lawyer, turned senator."He was probably the best I ever had in the 21 years I had on the bench. Lawyers would come in to watch him, to see what he does," Farmer told the Chicago Tribune in December 2003.'Scientifically unfounded'Olson said lawsuits blaming obstetricians for cerebral palsy and other infant brain damage "may constitute the single biggest branch of medical malpractice litigation." Cerebral palsy is diagnosed in about 8,000 infants annually in the U.S.But the recent scientific studies may make those lawsuits "scientifically unfounded," Olson explained. He contends that the medical malpractice suits that enabled Edwards and other trial lawyers to become rich and famous are crippling medical specialties like obstetrics, emergency room medicine and neurosurgery."A few years ago every neurosurgeon in Washington D.C., had been sued, and it can't be because the nation's capital gets only bad neurosurgeons. It's because it's too tempting to file against the competent ones because so many terrible things go wrong with their patients," Olson added.Edwards, who opposes legislation that would cap damages in liability lawsuits, would not respond to repeated requests through his campaign offices for comment.E-mail a news tip to Marc Morano.