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of us more aware, in general, of difficulties that have befallen classmates or other people we’ve known along the way. There’s just a greater recognition that people out there are injured or ill, people we know. BG: True. And the internet and social media have also aided consumers in finding the right lawyer, partly because they have at their fingertips our resumes, our accomplishments. And that’s something they didn’t have 15 years ago. They would just go hire the closest lawyer they might have heard something good about. Now they can do a web search to find out, say, if Brent Goudarzi has fought Werner trucking, and if he did, what kind of results did he get? LD: That really helps people make smarter, more informed decisions. BG: No question. Of course, there’s also a downside to it. Because sometimes an unscrupulous lawyer will make false claims, advertising accomplishments that aren’t genuine, and the consumer doesn’t know. Another thing that bothers me, and I’ve encountered it time and time again, whether I’m mediating in Texas or New York or Chicago, are insurance executives who say, “We’re not used to paying the numbers that you routinely get. And if we see 100 cases, 99 of them go away for a much lower level than what you are demanding today.” Then, the fight becomes the process of educating them on why these other lawyers are underselling their cases and why they’re going to pay my clients maximum compensation for their injuries and losses. LD: The numbers you get are astounding. And in the trucking sector, it seems like the accidents are so horrific and the safety issues are profound. Awards as big as the ones you’re getting in these cases really make people start paying attention. BG: I know for a fact that the transportation industry pays attention to the results my office gets, and it has already effectuated change in some of the biggest transportation companies in the nation. I know that because I talked to defense lawyers whom I deal with on a routine basis and they tell me. Now that being said, the problem in today’s society, within the transportation industry, is if you have a pulse and a commercial driver’s license, there’s going to be some trucking company that will hire you. Happens every day. So again, we need lawyers to take the time to do the appropriate amount of discovery and put the puzzle together. Once you know the law, and we clearly do, it’s easy to use it to show that this accident
didn’t have to happen. Had they followed the rules, had they followed the laws and the regulations, we wouldn’t be sitting here today. LD: Tell me a little more about the people at your firm, like your partner, Marty Young. BG: He’s my first cousin. We grew up like brothers. He was an undergraduate when I was in law school and we just stair-stepped our way through. I’ve had no better trial companion. I mean, his instincts are always spot on, and again, have allowed me to reach whatever level of success I have. I couldn’t have done it without him. LD: It’s neat that you’re family, right? BG: Sure, we can get into it and then five minutes later, we’re over it. We’re that kind of family. LD: Which means you have someone willing to ask you the tough questions, to say, “Are you positive about this one?” BG: No question. He’s been my best sounding board. LD: Walking through the hall here, there’s so much activity; the staff is so busy and there are clients coming in and out. I think it gets lost among lawyers sometimes how many people there are out here who need help, who have experienced horrible things and need good attorneys. BG: What I think all lawyers should be reminded of daily is that even if we have 700 files in our office, each one of those files is the number one problem in that client’s life, and we are the custodian of their future. They bring it to us, and they expect us to treat them like family and to pour our heart and our mind into that case to get them the best result possible. I take every case like I’m representing my own family member, and I want to treat that individual the way we would want to be treated. LD: It’s probably easier to keep that in mind when you’re sitting in the middle of a community like this and you walk down the street and you know the people. BG: I always tell the jury, “I’m just a small-town cowboy lawyer.” It doesn’t matter where I’m trying that case, I remind them of that. And many times I look at the defendants I’m suing, their experts or their corporate representatives, and say, “So, it took Brent Goudarzi from little Gilmer, Texas, to show you this problem within your company.” And usually, by the end of the case, at least one of them will thank me for bringing it to their attention so they can make sure it doesn’t happen again.
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