You Really Shouldn’t Call Attorney Jason Melton a ‘Jerk’ – Ever

February 15th, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Florida attorney Jason Melton…

Attorney Jason Melton: “Sometimes it’s just the right thing to do.”

 

Attorney Jason Melton

There is a strong streak of decency running through Jason Melton as he talks frankly about his approach to the law. A very serious criminal and personal injury attorney from the Tampa, Florida area, Melton still manages to bring a dash of self-deprecating humor to the conversation about the hours of legal work he does for free.

“We’re not hurting. We can afford to do it, so we do it,” he says. “And we don’t do it so I have something to ‘bitch’ about or when someone says ‘you’re a jerk,’ I can say ‘no I’m not—I see what I do’.”

Whittel & Melton definitely does its share of pro bono work. But they don’t advertise it, they don’t crow about it and they don’t complain about it later after they’ve passed on taking a fee.

“It’s not like I review every case to see if they can pay—sometimes we forgo payment because it is just the right thing to do,” says Melton. “Sometimes there are issues that we feel strongly about and someone comes in with the perfect fact pattern and we want to prove a point because it comes up again and again in other cases.”

Many of the cases that Melton does pro bono are personal injury claims resulting from auto accidents where clients are underinsured. “A few weeks ago, I did a personal injury case and it was just a bad situation for everyone,” says Melton. “My client’s injuries were not life-threatening, but they have medical bills and there wasn’t enough insurance money to go around—so I just didn’t take a fee.”

“When we see a situation like that we just don’t bill,” says Melton. “Sometimes it is just the right thing to do.”

Melton is the former president of the Florida State Bar Association and in the past has done an “Ask a Lawyer” radio program. He’s very aware that people hold negative views of lawyers and are likely unaware that many other lawyers also do good things for no particular reason.

“My clients love me,” says Melton. “But unless someone has been injured in an accident they often think lawyers just take a cut of someone’s insurance payout. They don’t realize what it takes to deal with insurance companies.”

Melton’s working in a tough neighborhood these days. There’s no shortage of potential pro bono clients in Hernando County. The official unemployment rate is about 15.6 percent—that’s the highest since 1976 and the second highest in the state. There is also a large population of senior citizens who don’t have money to pay a lawyer.

Although the state bar association requires lawyers to report the number of pro bono hours they do annually, Melton says frankly—he usually improvises. “I usually just come up with a figure that is probably lower than what it really is. There’s no way to even guess” says Melton.

Melton’s quirky sense of humour comes with his services—no charge.

Jason Melton is an a partner in the firm of Whittel & Melton. The firm handles criminal and personal injury law, including wrongful death, DUI, traffic offenses and juvenile crimes. Whittel & Melton has a main office in Spring Hill, Florida.

Tags: Attorney Jason Melton, Lawyers Doing Good, Lawyers Giving Back, Pro Bono

This was posted on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 at 9:09 am and is filed under Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.