Attorney Disclaimer Ordered by the United States District Court:
I am an attorney who was admitted to represent some of the objectors in a class action pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Any statements by an attorney, including myself, should be considered to be the personal opinion of the attorney and are not approved by the Court. As such, my statements contained herein are not approved by the Court. More information is available at www.weeksprogramsettlement.com, the Court-approved website.
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Susan Collins is IMHO the ONLY attorney is this action who has the interests of timesharers at heart and the ONLY one that can be trusted. She is in it for principle not a 7 figure or even a quarter million payout. She went to the last hearing without any expectation of being paid a cent.
Thanks, Carolinian! It's true that I AM in this mainly for the principle of it. What RCI is doing is simply wrong, and it's absolutely time to take a stand.
That being said, however, at this point, your accolades (and those of DeniseM) may be undeserved. While I ORIGINALLY had no notion of getting paid, at this point I would like very much to get paid. I have spent so much time on this case since the August hearing that I have had to turn down several paying clients just to keep up on this case. AND my personal life has been very attenuated, too (to the point of having arguments with family about my unavailability). Furthermore, my local counsel has expended so much time and energy that I think it would only be fair to see them compensated, too.
If I were spending the time on normal and reasonable legal work (communicating with clients, responding to reasonable requests, drafting court papers based on reasonable grounds) I might feel differently. However, the other attorneys in this case are forcing me to waste time responding to spurious claims and nonsensical allegations. (It makes me consider the matrimonial bar in which I practice REALLY civil!) One of these spurious claims is the oft-repeated accusation that I am somehow "soliciting" clients -- WHICH ISN'T EVEN NECESSARILY WRONG -- but which I have nevertheless NOT done, and also have repeatedly denied. Since no one can show otherwise, there have also been claims that other clients of mine are soliciting clients on my behalf (which I have taken pains to ensure that they do not). It doesn't even seem to matter that on my posts I have been careful NOT to eagerly accept clients who inquire about retaining me, much less suggest that they do so. (Those who send me private messages are a different matter.) I have also been careful to emphasize that there is no particular benefit to the people who retain me.
Nor do I believe that if I get paid, it will be on a "per client" basis. (I've never even heard of such a thing.) An award of fees could be based on time spent and expenses reasonably incurred, but IMO it would make even more sense to base an award of fees (at least partially) on effectiveness of efforts for the class!
It seems to me that the other attorneys involved are having difficulty understanding that people are attracted to what I say and do, rather than responding to some sort of "advertising." In my regular practice, I don't advertise, either. Not even in the telephone book, although I am listed in the yellow pages -- sometimes in tiny print, but sometimes in what is called "semi-bold." That is, capital letters, but not bold print. I do that so that people who are looking for me can find me among all the bolded names and advertising blurbs (not to mention all the full-page, half-page, and quarter-page ads). I have been extremely fortunate that my clients find me without my reaching out to find them -- often by word of mouth.
What makes me even angrier is that these other active attorneys have given grief to some of my clients who have become friends, and who have worked extremely hard on this case out of only the best of intentions, and completely unselfishly. They have spent countless hours letting people know about the issues and the case, but their efforts have been derided, their motivations called into question, their tactics criticized, and their every public statement subjected to intense scrutiny. All needlessly. Some of them have been subjected to what amount to personal attacks, and feel they are being used to attack me. As a result, some of my clients/friends have decided to represent themselves so that they are free to speak and act without casting any shadow over what I do. Am I angry about that? YES!!!!! (But not at my friends!)
Lately, even people whom I do NOT represent get criticized and questioned about their relationship with me if they so much as speak up for me. I absolutely understand if some of you out there would like me to represent you, but aren't asking because it might (somehow, out of a form of logic I am unfamiliar with) cast doubts on the veracity and sincerity of your sentiments.
Nor has my local counsel gotten a free pass. What can I say? Some Indian tribe was said to have had a saying to the effect that you measured a warrior's worth by the strength of his enemies. Well, if intensity of the efforts against me are any indication, I am apparently a worthy opponent. But I'm angry now.
So, at this point, Carolinian, I have added "getting paid" (by one of the parties, but NOT by my clients) to my list of objectives. Success is the best revenge, after all, and it would tickle me no end to not only defeat this one-sided contract, and to successfully stem one small part of the tide of corporate greed, but also to get paid for my efforts to boot!
I'm not asking for a quarter million dollars, either. (But I sure wouldn't turn my nose up at it!)
An attorney representing RCI recently called my local counsel apparently mainly for the purpose of telling him that RCI would never agree to paying fees either to him or to me. Well, RCI may not AGREE to pay us, but the judge may have other ideas. We'll see. My local counsel and I are happy to leave this decision in the hands of the judge.
My sincere apologies to anyone who may find my desire to be compensated disappointing. Hey, I'm not soliciting a halo, either.
However, I trust that even DeniseM and Carolinian will understand. (By the way, they are NOT my clients -- at least at this point -- since somehow that seems to make a difference to SOME people.)
Susan
