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David Fine
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David Fine
Fine Law Firm
220 Ninth St NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 243-4541 | Fax: (505) 242-2716
http://www.thefinelawfirm.com
http://www.newmexicoinjury.com
Helping New Mexico Personal Injury Victims Since 1975
Legal Topic
Personal Injury
Preferred New Clients
The Fine Law Firm represents victims of New Mexico personal injury cases. We devote our New Mexico personal injury practice to those injured by car accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and nursing home abuse.
Sub-Categories
Personal Injury
- Dangerous Property
- Wrongful Death
- Personal Injury Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Construction Site Injuries
- Slip & Fall
- Sports Injuries
- Petrochemical Accidents
- Whiplash
- Felony Auto Accident
- Design Defects
- Manufacturing Defects
- Assault & Battery
- Child abuse
- Dog Bites & Animal Attacks
- Domestic Violence
- Police Misconduct
- Sexual Assault
- Airplanes
- Buildings
- Mass Transit - Bus, Train, Subway
- Ships & Boats
- Anesthesia Malpractice
- Birth Injuries and Defects
- Cosmetic Surgery
- Dental Malpractice
- Elder and Nursing Home Abuse
- Emergency Room Errors
- HMO Managed Case
- Lasik Eye Surgery
- Medication Malpractice
- Optometry Malpractice
- Prescription/Drug Malpractice
- Psychiatric Malpractice
- Surgical Errors
- Wrong Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis
- Nursing Home Negligence
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Chemicals & Cosmetics
- Dangerous Drugs & Products
- Medical Products & Devices
- Toxic Mold
- Amputation
- Birth Injury
- Burn Injury
- Head/Brain Injury
- Paralysis
Bar Admissions
NM, Sep 2002
Bar Number: 15576
Other Court Admissions
State Bar of New Mexico and United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Association Memberships
New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, and New Mexico State Bar.
Continuing Education
David Fine stays compliant with the New Mexico Bar standards for continuing legal education through attending as well as teaching various seminars. Typically the seminars that provide the best benefit for the New Mexico personal injury practice at the Fine Law Firm is higher level personal injury seminars.
The National Business Institute has requested that David, as well as other attorneys at the Fine Law Firm lecture members of the New Mexico Bar seeking their own continuing legal education requirements.
Papers and Publications
During his active participation lecturing members of the New Mexico Bar in personal injury topics, David Fine has authoring various chapters in New Mexico accident, injury, and medical malpractice training materials. In addition, as a board member of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, David has provided analysis of the New Mexico bills being argued before the state legislature. Reviewing this aspect of law-making in New Mexico helps ensure that both current and future New Mexico personal injury clients will have their rights protecting whatever may happen.
Example Cases
New Mexico Medical Malpractice Case
David Fine served as lead counsel in a case involving a patient who was over medicated and discharged from medical care. When she returned home, the patient went to sleep and ultimately passed away. In addition to highly involved medical-legal research, David associated with expert witness across the county to obtain a confidential settlement that will cover nearly all major expenses for the woman's surviving children.
New Mexico Truck Accident Case
A husband and wife contacted David Fine after being involved in an accident with a semi-truck. In the initial communication with the New Mexico semi truck's insurance carrier the claim was denied. However, after filing a lawsuit and retaining various accident reconstruction experts, the claims were settled just short of trial for more than policy limits in excess of $1,000,000.
Education
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
School:
Vassar College
City:
Poughkeepsie
State:
NY
Year:
1999
Degree:
J.D.
School:
University of New Mexico
City:
Albuquerque
State:
NM
Year:
2002
Honors:
Honor Roll and Dean's List Recipient
Focus and Accomplishments:
Regional and National Mock Trial.
Number of Attorneys
4
State Licensed In
New Mexico
Firm Focus and History
The New Mexico personal injury attorneys at the Fine Law Firm have been helping those injured in New Mexico since 1975. Our personal injury, car accident, and wrongful death representation is the product of decades of personal injury practice within New Mexico. We have handled cases throughout the state ranging from complex medical malpractice claims to sophisticated product liability lawsuits.
The Fine Law Firm personal injury lawyers do not handle cases that do not involve legitimate physical injury to our clients. This specialized focus on New Mexico personal injury, accident, and medical malpractice law enables us to focus the majority of our attention on helping those injured because of somebody else?s negligent or intentional act.
The Fine Law Firm was established in 1975 by personal injury attorney Joseph Fine. Since then the firm has grown and currently provides four New Mexico car accident and injury lawyers.
The Fine Law Firm moved to its current historic location, The O'Rielly House, in 1989 where it provides legal assistance throughout New Mexico.
Previous Employment Summary
David Fine began his legal career at the New Mexico Public Defender's Office where he obtained substantial trial practice experience. In representing clients in dire times of need, he learned exactly what a client expects and how to develop a strong attorney client relationship. Since leaving the Public Defender's Office, David has handled hundreds of personal injury, accident, and medical malpractice cases.
Activities and Awards
The Fine Law Firm has achieved the highest possible rating for a New Mexico personal injury, accident, and medical malpractice law firm. Martindale-Hubbell recognizes the Fine Law Firm with an AV Rating. According to this lawyer rating service, this means that the Fine Law Firm has been ranked by other New Mexico attorneys, "at the highest level of professional excellence."
David Fine is also a recipient of the Lewis Powell Award for Excellence in Advocacy and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association. In addition to providing his personal injury clients with a high level of representation, David Fine also lectures to members of the New Mexico Bar regarding various aspects of New Mexico personal injury and accident practice including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, ethics, as well as developments in New Mexico personal injury law.
David Fine has also served as a coach for the University of New Mexico School of Law Mock Trial Team. He has successfully coached teams that have traveled throughout the country competing in regional and national competitions.
What is your opinion regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?
The Fine Law Firm represent New Mexico injury clients on the premise that Knowledge is Power. This principle means that the more aware a client is of his or her case, the more capable our New Mexico injury and malpractice attorneys are at satisfying the client's goals. Our lawyers strive to explain all issues involved in personal injury representation and are eager when our clients express a desire to learn more. To help achieve this goal we have developed a list of New Mexico personal injury legal resources, and also recommend that our clients visit Nolo, Legal Information Institute, Justia, and the New Mexico Statutes and Court Rules.
Are you willing to review documents prepared by clients?
The Fine Law Firm offers a free evaluation for our New Mexico personal injury, accident, or medical malpractice cases. If this means that it is necessary to spend more time reviewing a case than a twenty minute phone call will allow, we will review additional information. It is often helpful to review documents prepared by clients to better understand their description of their injury, accident, or medical malpractice claim.
When necessary, our New Mexico personal injury attorneys have spent hours, and if need be days, reviewing material (including extensive medical records) to be able to evaluate a case.
Because the Fine Law Firm offers free evaluations, no matter how much time we spend review documents prepared by a client, or medical records, we will not charge a fee unless we recover money for our personal injury clients.
Are you willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?
Often times people call wanting an answer to one simple question, "Do I Need a Lawyer For My Case?" Although the answer to this question is rarely a simple "yes" or "no," when we believe that our services will not benefit our clients, we believe it is our legal and ethical obligation to let them know. There have been numerous occasions in which our injury attorneys have given basic recommendations to injury victims as they attempt to handle a case on their own. That being said, given the nuances of New Mexico personal injury law, it is impossible, let alone unethical, to advice a client or injury victim without first developing a detailed awareness of their case. Therefore, although we have assisted New Mexico injury victims in working directly with insurance companies, or answering the questions of whether they need a lawyer, the Fine Law Firm primarily offers legal representation only to those who have formally retained our services.
Why did you decide to be a lawyer?
Growing up in New Mexico, it was always clear that it would be hard to leave. It always seemed that New Mexico would be home for the years to come. Just as much as New Mexico heritage and history has become part of my blood, so too has personal injury work. Our family has a substantial amount of attorneys many of which specialize in personal injury, accident, and medical malpractice litigation. This includes a father, brother, uncle, aunt, and four cousins. Although there was never any pressure to assume a legal career, it is something that was discussed actively growing up and as far back as memory permits, seemed to be the desired career.
What work experience and education helps you be a better lawyer?
In addition to having a family of lawyers that is present to discuss various issues relating to personal injury practice, growing up in New Mexico also provides invaluable experience. There are substantial differences between juries in the southern and northern part of New Mexico, as well as the state's rural and urban areas. Being brought up in New Mexico has allowed for a higher sense of understanding and awareness regarding crucial issues in a New Mexico personal injury case.
Why did you decide on your primary area of practice?
Rather than work for large corporations and insurance companies, it was always more appealing to help New Mexico injury victims and their families in times of need. Although the work can be emotionally challenging, there is great joy in helping families cope with loss and helping prevent future injures to others. It is a unique area of law that changes each day. You truly never know what each new phone call will bring.
What do you like best about your career?
The highlight of the career has been not just helping injury victims, but doing so after they have been told that nobody can help them. There is truly a sense of helping when injury victims have been told they cannot recover compensation or that the law does not protect them and then representing them to successful results.
There is also enjoyment in seeing substantial personal injury recoveries being used to completely change somebody's life. Whether it means children never having to worry about college or buying a home, or older people realizing that they will never have to work again, it is nice not just to recover large amounts of money for clients, but also to see how those proceeds can change lives for the better, and help them cope with substantial injury or loss.
Tell us about your law firm:
At the Fine Law Firm there are four lawyers plus a support staff of four. We make it a point that the attorneys, rather than paralegals, handle all substantial aspects of an injury case. Although the support staff we have is incredibly competent we recognize that when a client hires an attorney, they want the attorney to do the work and handle the case.
What are your strengths and style?
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. In a personal injury practice, this means trying to give the insurance company or opposing counsel an opportunity to resolve the case amicably through settlement. I believe that not only is this usually the quickest way to resolve a case, it is often in my personal injury clients' best interests.
However, when it becomes clear that "being nice" is not going to work, I am the first to admit that the gloves come off and it is time to fight, to whatever extent necessary, to preserve my clients" rights.
Although it is usually beneficial to explore the possible pre-litigation settlement of a case, the Fine Law Firm makes it a point to handle each case as if it were going to trial. This means that each case is handled carefully and aggressively and in the event that negotiation falls through, our injury attorneys are fully prepared for whatever litigation may be ahead.
Personal Interests:
In addition to actively enjoying the recreation opportunity throughout New Mexico including fly fishing, mountain biking, running, soccer, and swimming, I can usually be found with my wife and two children when I am not at work.
Office Manager/Assistant
Linda Robertson
Fax
(505) 242-2716
Office Hours
Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Weekend appointments available. Telephone Service 24 hours a day.
Emergency After Hours
Yes
Foreign Languages
Spanish.
Additional Offices
Rio Rancho, NM
1201 Rio Rancho Blvd
Suite D
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
(505) 243-4541
Fixed-Price Services and Fees
The Fine Law Firm handles almost exclusively personal injury cases. As a result, there is no upfront cost or retainer for our services. Our standard fee is 33.33%. While some New Mexico law firms have begun charging as much as 40% to 50% contingency fees, the Fine Law Firm does not charge more than 33.33%. In addition, the Fine Law Firm will reduce the attorney fee if necessary to ensure that the client recovers a higher amount than his or her injury attorney.
Hourly Rates
Zero. Considering that the Fine Law Firm works on contingency fees, there is no hourly rate for representation in personal injury cases. Even in injury, accident, wrongful death, and medical malpractice cases that require hundreds of hours of preparation, if there is no recovery, then the client will not pay an attorney fee.
Free Initial Consultation?
Yes. The personal injury attorneys at the Fine Law Firm will not charge for giving any prospective client a decision regarding whether their case is something we can help with. If this means that the case can be evaluated quickly over the telephone, we attempt to do so as promptly as possible. However, in other, more complex, New Mexico injury cases such as medical malpractice, wrongful death, or product liability, the evaluation and consultation process may be more involved and may take substantially longer. Regardless, if the Fine Law Firm believes it is necessary, the client will not be charged for this process.
Typical Retainer
No. Considering our New Mexico personal injury attorneys work on contingency fees and offer free evaluations, there is no initial fee or retainer that is necessary.
Nolo's Licensing Check
Attorneys have passed a licensing check. Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the applicable bar associations upon joining the directory.
Directory lawyers are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any bar association.
