You have probably seen Morgan & Morgan billboards and ads boasting that the firm is America’s largest personal injury law firm. That’s no surprise given that the firm spends more than $100 million every year on advertising to make sure that if you’re injured and looking for legal representation, Morgan & Morgan is the name that pops into your head.
That was the case for sheriff’s deputy Brandon Walker of the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office in Georgia, who was injured when his cruiser was hit from behind by a driver going more than 100 mph. Seriously injured, Walker recalled the Morgan & Morgan Jacksonville billboards he had seen throughout southern Georgia and reached out to them for help.
The attorney who spoke to Walker for less than five minutes gave him misleading advice, telling him he would need to quit his job in order to file a worker’s compensation claim. Not wanting to quit his job, Walker didn't file for worker's compensation and is now in for future medical bills for his permanent back injury. He’s now suing Morgan & Morgan and the attorney who gave him the bad advice. And his case has turned into a class action, because it turns out that Morgan & Morgan Jacksonville wasn’t even registered to do business in Georgia at the time Walker contacted them.
It was also the case for Brian Brown, who reached out to Morgan & Morgan after being involved in a trucking accident. Brown sued Morgan & Morgan after they failed to secure the full amount he could have gotten from insurance. Morgan & Morgan filed to dismiss the suit, arguing that Brown had signed an arbitration agreement. Brown’s new counsel proved that the agreement was unconscionable. Morgan & Morgan is now appealing that decision.
Arkansas attorney Jody Shackelford is taking a bold stand against this mammoth law firm, filing a lawsuit earlier this year alleging that the firm’s advertising violates state and federal laws and unfairly harms its competitors. Morgan & Morgan’s “extensive” ad campaigns have included “unfair trade practices, deceptive trade practices, and false or misleading advertising,” Shackelford said. “These practices cause substantial injury to consumers and competitors, including Plaintiff, by misleading consumers and diverting business from law firms that comply with ethical advertising standards.
If you scroll through the complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau against Morgan & Morgan, they read like a horror story: Morgan & Morgan telling clients and prospective clients “there wasn’t enough money involved for them to pursue the case due to the at fault parties insurance coverage,” the firm failing to send over paperwork or dropping communication completely, and settling cases without the client’s knowledge.
Since Orlando-based John Morgan founded the Morgan & Morgan law firm in 1988, his net worth has ballooned to $690 million. Now he spends his time crafting expletive-laced X posts, campaigning for legal marijuana, bullying local politicians who are trying to lower insurance costs for Floridians, and lounging in the Winter Park estate he bought from his son for $4.6 million.
Morgan & Morgan claims it’s “for the people” - the URL for the firm’s website is literally forthepeople.com. Does John Morgan sound like he’s “for the people”? And why are so many of “the people” filing complaints - legal and otherwise - against the firm?
With no lack of lawyers in the Southeast, injured individuals may want to take more time researching a reputable firm before reaching out to the loudest billboard attorneys.