Law Office Of Nelson C. Barry III
About
Since 2015 we only represent 15 clients at a time in order to give each case top notch attention. To be successful with this business model, we limit ourselves to high value cases where our client is seriously injured or killed.
Mr. Barry is very aggressive when it comes to taking the fight to the other side. He uses his 40 years of experience to stay ahead and out maneuver the less experienced and over-worked attorneys on the other side. With a small cases load Mr Barry has the time to work up each cases completely. This has resulted in many wins in court and million dollar settlements.
It is very satisfying to win. Mr. Barry is quite competitive when it comes to representing his clients. He is one of the few attorneys that uses new technologies to create animations that show how the accident happened and how the injuries occured. He also uses a 3D printer to create exact duplicates of the broken bones and other injuries which can be handled by the jurors which gives them a much fuller understanding of the seriousness of the injuries suffered by his clients.
Highlights
No reviews (yet)
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I talk to the client on the phone or face-to-face, listen to the client, explain his or her options, give a free initial case evaluation and let the client choose whether to hire me.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Undergrad at UC Berkeley (class of 1975)
Hastings College of Law (class of 1978)
40 years of litigation experience, multiple trials, arbitrations and meditations. Over 2,500 cases where Mr. Barry served as mediator. Over two dozen cases where Mr. Barry was the arbitrator.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your services? If so, please share the details here.
The standard fee in our industry is that the attorney gets 1/3 of the settlement or 40% if the case goes into litigation. I will advance all the costs so we never ask the client for any money during the course of the case. I am reimbursed these costs out of the settlement.
No settlement is made without the client's permission and with full knowledge of how much is going into his or her pocket after all fees and costs are paid.
How did you get started in this business?
Out of law school I went to work at my father's law firm and rose to partner in 7 years, then managing partner during which time the firm grew from 7 attorneys to 35.
I left to start my own firm in 1990 because I wanted to have more direct time working on my cleints cases and less time doing administrative activities.
What types of customers have you worked with?
I have worked exclusively with people who were injured and/or lost a loved one due to someone else's negligence since 1990. Prior to that in addition to representing injured people I represeted lawyers, architects and engineers who were being sued for professional malpractice.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
In 2013 I took a case against a local gym when one of their trainers instruted a 50 year old woman to use a piece of exercise equipment in direct violation of the way that the equipment manufacturer stated in the instructions. As a result she was seriously injuryed and needed two back surgeries. The gym's attorneys appealed three times to the local court of appeal, once to the State Supreme Court and once to the US Supreme court; all because we were beating them every time in the local court. All of the appealate courts agreed with us or denied the gym a hearing which is the same thing as saying that their appeal was without merit. After 4 hard fought years, we settled on the eve of trial for several million dollars. It was quite satisfying and my client was finally properly compensated.
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a pro in your area of expertise?
Interview other attorneys. Ask them if they are busy. Most will say they are very busy. If they don't admit to being busy, ask them how many cases they are handling at one time. The answer is usually in the range of 50 to over 100. This means they have taken on too many cases and spend most of their time trying to keep up on their cases. This often results in their clients getting lower settlements. Also many of these attorneys are unwilling to go to trial because it takes them away from their other cases for a month or more even if the trial is just for one week becaues of all the necessary work up.
Our office purposely limits our case load to just 15 large value cases so that we can give each case the full attention it deserves. Combine this with Mr. Barry's 40 years of litigation, arbitration and mediation experience and his office's heavy use of technologies to clearly prove liability in favor of our clients and the seriousness of their injuries, and you will find that we are in a league where very few other lawyers exist.
What questions should customers think through before talking to pros about their needs?
How much do you care about the outcome of your case? If you want to be well represented, you must take the time to find out how qualified is your attorney. Once you know enough that you feel you can trust this person to represent you professionally, competently and successfully, then you are ready to hire him or her.