ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601110147
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
Despite a growing number of lawyers, talk of tort reform, and continued popularity of lawyer jokes, the Roanoke Valley's legal profession seems to be faring none for the worse.
"We continue to have more lawyers coming in, we don't have that many going out, and I'm not aware of any going under," says Charles Dorsey, a lawyer and president of the Roanoke Bar Association.
The city's bar association, a voluntary organization, has 437 active members, while the Roanoke County-Salem Bar Association numbers approximately 80. A decade ago, by comparison, the Roanoke Bar Association had 349 active members.
"There are a ton of lawyers out there, and the competition is really, really stiff," said Mac Doubles, a Salem lawyer who recently re-entered private practice after spending five years as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Roanoke.
Doubles said he is charging about the same fees in certain cases as he did before becoming a prosecutor. "I constantly hear people in my office say, `I would have gone to so-and-so but I couldn't afford it,'" he said.
Lawyers who have been in the business long enough to establish their bases of clients and those who work for larger firms say they are more insulated from the financial pressures that have some young practitioners struggling to make it.
But in an increasingly complex world, more individuals and businesses are turning to the growing pool of lawyers to help solve their problems.
"I think the significant thing is the market for legal services is still expanding," Dorsey said.
Roanoke lawyer Robert Szathmary said lawyers who are just getting started can make enough on court-appointed criminal cases to pay their overhead in the first few years. "It's just a matter of building up from there," he said.
Some lawyers credit the tough-on-crime political movement - from the war on drugs to a new law lowering the blood-alcohol level at which a motorist is presumed intoxicated in Virginia - with bringing more business to their doorsteps.
And while another political firestorm - the current debate on reforming the legal system to eliminate frivolous lawsuits and excessive awards - might seem ominous to some lawyers, others say the effect would be minimal in Virginia.
"I think that judges and juries are so much more conservative here than in other states, that tort reform will not have a big impact," said Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, a lawyer who heads the Roanoke County-Salem Bar Association.
Many tort-reform proposals, such as putting a cap on punitive damages awarded in civil cases, already have been implemented in Virginia, Griffith said.
Increased competition could be the biggest challenge facing young lawyers starting out on their own, but large law firms are facing their own problems created by downsizing in the ranks of their major corporate clients.
Firms such as Woods, Rogers and Hazlegrove, the largest in the Roanoke region and the sixth largest in the state, recently have made organizational changes and have become more aggressive in recruiting clients and marketing their services.
Whether they are solo practitioners or members of big firms, most lawyers admit that they seem to be the butt of more jokes now than in the past. But several Roanoke Valley attorneys said any public sentiment against them has not led to a reduction in the demand for their services.
People have a love-hate relationship with lawyers, it seems, that turns to love when they need one.
"I try to discourage people from litigation everyday," Dorsey said. "There are more people out there who want to file suit than there are lawyers who want to file suit."
LENGTH: Medium: 71 linesby CNB