[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/real-people-real-tragedies-and-real-consequences\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/real-people-real-tragedies-and-real-consequences\/","headline":"Real People, Real Tragedies, and Real Consequences","name":"Real People, Real Tragedies, and Real Consequences","description":"Last\u00a0month,\u00a0the Georgia Bar Association\u2019s Young Lawyers Division did me the great honor of giving me the \u201cYoung Litigator of the Year\u201d award, primarily because of my role in the\u00a0Walden v. Chrysler\u00a0verdict. \u00a0They asked me to write a little bit about the case and kind of work that our law firm, Butler Kahn, does. The\u00a0Walden case&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/real-people-real-tragedies-and-real-consequences\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Real People, Real Tragedies, and Real Consequences<\/span><\/a>","datePublished":"2015-07-20","dateModified":"2026-04-17","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/author\/butler\/#Person","name":"Jeb Butler","url":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/author\/butler\/","identifier":9,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5a02bc71d91db5fc8645f129c4424ce6ef7af7e24fe54f4a85315a9dd28f317?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5a02bc71d91db5fc8645f129c4424ce6ef7af7e24fe54f4a85315a9dd28f317?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Butler Kahn","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Butler-Law-Firm-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Butler-Law-Firm-Logo.png","width":210,"height":93}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2015-06-16-JB3-receiving-YLD-litigator-award-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2015-06-16-JB3-receiving-YLD-litigator-award-scaled.jpg","height":1440,"width":2560},"url":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/real-people-real-tragedies-and-real-consequences\/","about":["Liability","Personal Injury"],"wordCount":441,"articleBody":"Last\u00a0month,\u00a0the Georgia Bar Association\u2019s Young Lawyers Division did me the great honor of giving me the \u201cYoung Litigator of the Year\u201d award, primarily because of my role in the\u00a0Walden v. Chrysler\u00a0verdict. \u00a0They asked me to write a little bit about the case and kind of work that our law firm, Butler Kahn, does.The\u00a0Walden case reminded me that litigation is for real. What I mean is that litigation is about real tragedies, involves real people, and causes real consequences. We lawyers can forget that. Too often lawyers play \u2018games\u2019 by misconstruing the law to a trial judge, trying to trick witnesses, or wordsmithing discovery responses\u2014or they allow their adversaries to get away with such tactics, apparently believing that those are the \u2018rules of the game.\u2019 Litigation is not a game. If we treat litigation as a game, or we allow our adversaries to get away with treating it as a game, we abdicate our responsibility to the public. The legal system cannot devolve into a needlessly complex apparatus that helps lawyers make money off disputes. It is, and should remain, a system that serves and protects the people.View the Walden Case by Clicking HereWe saw that in\u00a0Walden.\u00a0 We saw plenty of would-be gamesmanship by Chrysler\u2019s lawyers (primarily from those outside Georgia) and had plenty of fighting about it. After a three-year slugfest, we saw results. Now the national media has alerted people to the dangers of these rear-tank Jeeps, the federal government considered (albeit temporarily) reopening its investigation into the Jeeps, and Chrysler has been summoned before Congress to answer for at least some of its sins. Those are real consequences. Before Walden, Chrysler had settled\u00a0every\u00a0single rear-tank Jeep case filed against it\u2014somewhere between 50 and 100 cases. Our clients forced them to trial. If Chrysler thought this was a game, its misconception has been corrected.If that sounds insightful, I\u2019m not the one who deserves the credit. The words are mine but the attitude\u2014which he has exemplified for thirty-something years in this profession, and which I\u2019ve had the opportunity to observe closely\u2014is that of Jim Butler, my father and lead counsel in Walden v. Chrysler.That\u2019s the attitude we keep alive at my firm, Butler Kahn. We handle wrongful death and personal injury cases. Most of our injury cases are \u2018worth\u2019 far, far less than $150 million, but we don\u2019t take cases that we don\u2019t believe in. Our primary practice areas are trucking, car wrecks, and negligent security cases\u2014and one thing we won\u2019t stand for in any of them is gamesmanship."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Real People, Real Tragedies, and Real Consequences","item":"https:\/\/butlerfirm.com\/blog\/real-people-real-tragedies-and-real-consequences\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]