Ambulance chasing, sometimes known as barratry, is a professional slur which refers to a lawyer

soliciting for clients at a disaster site. The term "ambulance chasing" comes from the stereotype of
lawyers that follow ambulances to the emergency room to find clients. [1]

Description
Ambulance chasing is prohibited in the United States. Such conduct violates Rule 7.3[2] of
the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Some bar associations strongly
enforce rules against barratry. For example, the State Bar of Californiadispatches investigators to
large-scale disaster scenes to discourage ambulance chasers, and to catch any who attempt to solicit
business from disaster victims at the scene.[3]
Ambulance chasing is also illegal in Australia, in accordance with clauses 20 and 22 of the Legal
Profession Regulation of 1987.
Literally following an ambulance to take advantage of its ability to pass red lights can be considered a
form of slipstreaming, and is also illegal in many jurisdictions.

Ambulance chasing is a term associated with lawyers. It refers to an attorneys practice of soliciting
business from accident victims or their families at the scene of an accident or disaster. Trial lawyers
who specialize in representing accident victims are often described as ambulance chasers. Ambulance
chasing may involve the chasing of an ambulance from an accident scene to the hospital in order to
contact the victim/victims family members for consent to represent him or her in a lawsuit.

In the U.S., such conduct violates Rule 7.3 of the American Bar Association Model Rules of
Professional Conduct. Some state bars strongly enforce rules against ambulance chasing. Ambulance
chasing is severely condemned, and said to be a ground for disbarment. However, the employment by
an attorney of an investigator in personal injury cases is not unethical, and it cannot be inferred from
such employment alone that the attorney is engaged in ambulance chasing. [In re Mitgang, 385 Ill.
311]. The employment of investigators after an attorney has been retained is not unethical and does
not give an inference that the attorney involved is engaged in "ambulance chasing." [In re Ratner, 194
Kan. 362 (Kan. 1965)].

Ambulance Chaser Definition:

One who follows up cases of accident and tries to induce the injured party to bring suit for
damages.

"A person, either a lawyer or the agent of a lawyer, who follows up cases of accident in the streets
and tries to induce the injured party to bring suit for damages."
These were the words adopted by the Supreme Court of Michigan in the 1927 case, Kelley v Boyne.
There, the court added:
""Ambulance-chaser ... is said to have originally been applied to the unseemly activities of overzealous
undertakers in too promptly soliciting contracts in their line of business..."

In a 1916 case, the lawyer was disbarred for ambulance-chasing. The Supreme Court of New York
described the case before it (In re Newell) in the following terms:
"Learning of an accident, from which a negligence action might probably arise, through the
newspapers or from any other source, (the attorney's agent)... would promptly proceed to the place of
accident, interview the person injured, or in the case where death had ensued, the members of his
family, present to them his view of the case, recommend the retaining of the respondent's law firm....
"(O)ne who solicits negligence cases for an attorney ... may properly be called an ambulance
chaser.... Ambulance chasing has brought deserved discredit upon those engaged in it.... (I)t is a
practice disgraceful for a member of the legal profession.... (I)t is also a practice which is
unprofessional, and destructive of the honor of the profession and of the confidence of the community
in the integrity and honor of its members....
"We think there never was a time in the history of the profession of the law when conduct such as that
of the respondent was tolerable from any point of view.

In his 1964 book, Richmond, Virginia lawyer John may tells this amusing ambulance-chaser story:
"The court and jury were quietly listening to a little old woman describing an automobile accident in
which she had been involved and upon which she was basing her suit for damages. Things were
going along smoothly until her lawyer asked her, "And what next to you remember, Mrs. Green?" to
which she replied, "The next thing I remember is you helping me out of the car."

Barratry

In Criminal Law, the frequent incitement of lawsuits and quarrels that is a punishable offense.
Barratry is most commonly applied to an attorney who attempts to bring about a lawsuit that will be p
rofitable to her or him.Barratry is an offense both at Common
Law and under some state statutes. The broader common-
law crime has beenlimited by certain statutes. An attorney who is overly officious in instigating or enc
ouraging prosecution of groundlesslitigation might be guilty of common barratry under a particular st
atute. The requirement for the crime of barratry is thatrepeated or persistent acts of litigation are perf
ormed by the accused. Barratry is generally a misdemeanor punishable byfine or imprisonment. In the
case of an attorney, disbarment is the usual punishment. Since few cases have beenprosecuted, barrat
ry is considered by the legal community at large to be an archaic crime. This is particularly true today
dueto a highly litigious atmosphere.
In maritime law, barratry is the commission of an act by the master or mariners of a vessel for an unla
wful or fraudulentpurpose that is contrary to the duty owed to the owners, by which act the owners su
stain injury.
A form of barratry is misconduct of the master of a ship in taking commodities on board that subject t
he ship to seizure forSmuggling. It is essential in barratry that a criminal act or intent exist on the pa
rt of the master or mariners which inures totheir own benefit and causes injury to the owners of the sh
ip.
West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights
reserved.

barratry

n. creating legal business by stirring up disputes and quarrels, generally for the benefit of the lawyer w
ho sees fees in thematter. Barratry is illegal in all states and subject to criminal punishment and/or dis
cipline by the state bar, but there mustbe a showing that the resulting lawsuit was totally groundless. T
here is a lot of border-
line barratry in which attorneys, in thename of being tough or protecting the client, fail to seek avenue
s for settlement of disputes or will not tell the client he/shehas no legitimate claim.

DEFINITION of 'Barratry'

An illegal act whereby an attorney instigates a dispute or otherwise encourages the filing of a lawsuit,
in order to profit from legal fees. Barratry typically involves the filing of a groundless claim in order to
receive payment from clients. It is an illegal practice in all U.S. states and subject to criminal
punishment and discipline by the state bar. An attorney found guilty of barratry would generally face
disbarment.

BREAKING DOWN 'Barratry'

Barratry refers to an attorney's illegal instigation of lawsuits with no legitimate claim. For barratry to
be a criminal act, the accused must perform repeated and persistent acts of litigation. It is against the
law for an attorney to look for accident victims in hospitals or at home in an attempt to solicit
business. Such "ambulance chasers" could be found guilty of barratry.

Barratry is a term that is subject to different definitions. In law practice, it refers to the generation of
profit for legal services by an attorney who stirs up a dispute and encourages lawsuits in order to file
what is typically a groundless claim. It is an illegal practice in all states.

Barratry is also the act of a ship's captain or crew knowingly endangering the vessel's cargo and/or the
vessel itself. Acts that are considered barratry include intentionally sinking the ship, transporting
illegal immigrants, and stealing cargo.

The acts of selling positions of authority, especially in the church, is also referred to as barratry.