In a shocking development this week, Law.com has reported on a Georgia personal injury attorney resigning his position from the State Bar Committee over the widespread practice of case running in Georgia, the practice where lawyers recruit victims before their police reports are made public:

“On Friday, PI attorney, Darl Champion, of the Champion Firm, announced that he was resigning as chair of the State Bar of Georgia’s Committee on Attorney-Client Solicitation in a letter to bar president Christopher Twyman, which was posted to LinkedIn. According to Champion, the practice of case running, an allegedly illegal practice of soliciting auto tort plaintiffs before their police reports are made public, has gotten so out of hand, in part because the state bar has done nothing to stop it. In his words to the bar, he ‘cannot, in good conscience, remain in a position that has become a facade for action,’ Champion wrote.”

Case running is illegal in many states across the country. Yet the practice is so rampant in Georgia, Champion felt he had no other choice but to resign his position with the state bar committee. He continued:

“‘The conduct is not just unethical, it’s criminal,’ Champion said [in the letter], alleging that case running violates O.C.G.A sections 33-24-53 and 15-19-55, which ban individuals from soliciting, releasing or selling information about the parties of a motor vehicle accident for financial gain. ‘Anti-solicitation rules exist for a reason. They protect vulnerable people from being preyed upon in their weakest moments.”

Unfortunately for victims, case running hasn’t been prosecuted in Georgia since 2011. Champion concluded: 

“‘I think it is easier to get arrested, convicted of murder and sentenced to death in this state than it is to actually get disciplined for a [case running] bar violation,” Champion said. ‘Ultimately, we really need enforcement … and the committee can’t make the mark. There’s all these things we can’t change, so that’s why, ultimately, I said, ‘I don’t see the point of being part of this committee. They can’t do anything, so I would be much better off not being on it, so I can talk about this a little more openly.’”

These allegations from a member of the State Bar Committee provides an unvarnished look at how some personal injury attorneys exploit loopholes and laws, ultimately leaving victims worse off.