A Conversation with Robert Gould
Attorney
As a kid, did you always want to be a lawyer?
As a kid I always KNEW I would be a lawyer. I come from a long line of lawyers. My grandfather, father, uncle, and multiple cousins are all lawyers. In my house, everything was a negotiation; it was as if I was being trained to argue. One of my earliest memories is sitting at the dinner table negotiating about how many peas I had to eat. We would start out with the entire serving, but I would take my knife and portion off about a quarter of it which I would agree to eat. My dad and I would go back and forth with that knife pulling peas from one pile to the other. This was a nightly occurrence in our house. Today, I have to admit, I do this with my own son. However, we negotiate on how many books we will read at bedtime, and I am proud to say my son is as good at getting more books read from me as I was at getting out of eating peas. However, still to this day I do not care for green peas.
Sounds like your dad taught you early to stand up for what you believed. How did he feel when you decided to go to law school?
Well, now that’s an interesting story. My father was a professor at my law school.
No kidding. Did he watch over you?
Unfortunately, more than I wanted at the time. I remember having stayed up late one night partying after a Red Sox victory, and I decided I would just skip a morning class the next day. No big deal, everyone did it occasionally. However, since all the professors knew who I was, Dad heard about it immediately. He called me to see if I was sick and if I needed Mom to bring over some soup, all the while knowing there wasn’t a thing wrong with me.
How did your classmates feel about your dad being a professor? Did they give you a hard time?
Since I was quiet about it, most of them didn’t even realize it in the beginning. Dad was a tough professor and never got too friendly with students. I would hear them talking about how tough his class was, and I would just smile and agree. Having dad there certainly added a little more stress to an already high-stress situation, but it gave me a unique opportunity to make him proud. When I graduated Cum Laude (with honors), my father presented my degree to me, and I have never seen him so proud.
You mentioned the Boston Red Sox. Are you a fan?
Go Sox! Being born and raised in Boston, I have always been a Boston Red Sox fan. Although my law career started in New York City, the Yankee craze had no effect on me. I suffered many a painful autumn collapse until the glorious 2004 season. The magnificent comeback against the Yankees in the ALCS that year is something I will never forget. Going on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series was as good as it gets. Come spring, you can find me watching the ball game every night with my wife and kids. It’s a family event in our house.
What makes CMIL different from most firms?
The biggest difference is that we really care about our clients as people. When you are my client, my concern is not just getting you the best medical care or the biggest settlement, I want to know that you are able to play with your kids again. It is important to me to know about you as a person because here you’re family, not just a file. I make it a point to really get to know my clients as people, because it makes my job so much more rewarding. Our clients know that long after their case is finished, they can come back to us and ask our advice on any legal matter. Just the other day, a client dropped by unannounced that had been a CMIL client seven years ago, and both Carter and I met with him on a personal matter. Although it was something we couldn’t handle for him, we gave him good advice and got him connected with the right people. It makes me feel good knowing that clients leave here feeling like we are more than just their attorneys, we are also their friends.
Is it true that if a client’s phone call is not returned on that same day then Carter buys the client a free lunch?
Yes, it is true. We try to treat our clients the way we would want to be treated. Have you ever sat around and waited for a call that never came? It is frustrating and a waste of your time. You hired me to be your lawyer, and if I can’t find the time for you, then I don’t deserve your business. If you are getting a free lunch from us, that means we dropped the ball.
How often does that happen?
Not very often, thank goodness. Normally we buy maybe four to five lunches a year. Calling back a client that same day is top on Carter’s non-negotiable list (meaning no excuse will get you out of this one). Did you know the number one grievance against lawyers in Connecticut is that they don’t call their clients back at all? Not at our office. The few times it happens, it is caught by the next day and we hear about it.
I heard one of the biggest concerns that clients have is not being able to pay for medical expenses. How does that work?
Because of our size and reputation, we have established relationships with doctors and hospitals across the state. These medical providers recognize that many of our clients do not have health insurance and still need treatment and have agreed to treat our clients based on our promise to pay them out of the proceeds of a settlement. We issue what is called a LOP, or letter of protection, to these providers. A letter of protection is a promise by both our firm and the client to pay for their medical bills from any settlement of a claim. Essentially, our clients can get treatment with almost any type of doctor and not pay for it up front. We know how stressful dealing with the medical profession can be, much less worrying about paying for it, and we are there guiding our clients through this from the start.
Sounds like you enjoy what you do...
Absolutely! I don’t even mind driving over the Q Bridge twice a day in traffic to get to and from work.
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The Connecticut injury lawyers at Carter Mario represent clients with injuries stemming from auto accidents, dog bites, drug injuries, fire and burn injuries, medical malpractice, Social Security Disability denials, slip and fall accidents, truck accidents, workers’ compensation denials, as well as the families of wrongful death victims.
