MEET THE FIRM
George Rotchford, who has been practicing for 30 years, and Neal Betancourt, in practice for 28 years, are the partners. They have one person on staff, secretary Lana Richardson. Rotchford’s wife assists with the bookkeeping.
HOW LONG HAS THE FIRM BEEN IN EXISTENCE?
Since 1981.
THEIR AREA OF PRACTICE
Rotchford specializes in workers compensation law. Betancourt handles family law, appeals, criminal work, workers compensation and miscellaneous contract disputes.
WHO ARE YOUR WORKERS COMPENSATION CLIENTS?
“We see those with the more serious injuries or prolonged recovery who are having trouble with their insurance company administrating the law,” said Betancourt.
“Most of our clients are working class individuals. They’re trying to understand the system and receive benefits. They’re entitled to medical treatment but there are strings in the law to make it not so simple. They’re left to have the insurance company tell them their rights.”
“It puts counsel in the hands of those that are paying for it,” added Rotchford. “It’s like having your dog watch your hamburger. They’re not disinterested; they’re involved. The less they pay, the more profit they realize. These people just want their lives back. Their injury involves a loss of income and a loss of health. The big picture is to get them back and make sure they don’t sink in the meantime.”
WHY PICK THESE FIELDS?
“I was with the Public Defender’s Office for five years doing criminal defense, so I continue to do some criminal defense,” said Betancourt. “I want to keep my hand in a few other things. I enjoy more of a variety of work. If you specialize in one field, you’re at the mercy of changes in the law.”
WHY DO YOU LIKE WORKERS
COMPENSATION LAW?
“I can’t keep up with all the stuff he [Betancourt] does. I like my clientele. I like helping them because this is their last resort. This is a service organization and a service business. That’s gratifying,” said Rotchford.
“When you represent these people, it’s like you’re representing their family because the injured party is usually the breadwinner,” said Betancourt. “They have real problems and need real help. You have people that are hurting physically and financially and the next complication is the legal system. They’re in a game where they don’t know the rules. You can alleviate that fear of the unknown.”
EDUCATION
Both are graduates of the University of Florida and both worked in the Public Defender’s Office.
WHY BECOME A LAWYER?
“I was interested in the social sciences and people, but needed a way to apply that,” said Betancourt. “I was concerned that teaching college was too theoretical but I was interested in the law and doing courtroom and trial work.”
“I admired people who were concerned about injustice and would take on causes,” said Rotchford. “I thought that was what I would do also.”
“When we were in college in the late 1960s, there was a movement in the country towards civil rights,” continued Betancourt. “You were educated to think you have a duty to improve the world you came into — that you have a real obligation to be active in public life and do better for society.”
WHY HAVE YOU NEVER ADDED ANOTHER PARTNER?
“Everybody’s got to decide what their style is — whether you want to be at the top, have a supervisor, hire and fire,” said Rotchford. “All those problems magnify with size. We’re happy with this level of organization. It’s easy to manage. We’ve never had a discussion about bringing on a partner.”
“With a three-person firm, there always seems to be an odd man out,” added Betancourt. “We’re able to concentrate on our clients and the work instead of administration. You might lose touch if you take on too many people.”
ARE YOUR CASES LENGTHY?
“Most of mine are,” said Rotchford. “The way to resolve it is to be patient and make the system deliver.”
“Often we’re waiting to see what the doctor is going to do and waiting for convalescence to begin,” added Betancourt. “The [duration of the] case depends on how their recovery is progressing and how they end up medically.”
DO YOU GET A LOT OF HAPPY ENDINGS?
“Usually, there’s a happy ending regarding appropriate medical care,” said Betancourt. “There’s not many that we see that make a full recovery. They usually end up with less physical capability and very often, a job that pays less. Sometimes their injury forces retraining. Economically, it gets worse before it gets better. Seldom do they go back to the same employer at the same job.”
WHY DO THEY LOSE
THEIR JOBS?
“It’s a principle of human nature that if an employee is injured, the employer is stressed by the complications of the case and winds up embittered as if they [the employees] did something wrong,” explained Rotchford. “Because of all the hassles, problems in getting treatment and missing time from work, most employers are not sympathetic to bringing back an employee no matter how productive he was before.”
WHAT’S MOST REWARDING ABOUT YOUR WORK?
“Helping somebody at a low point in their life, often through no fault of their own,” said Betancourt. “Helping them find a way out of the hole and gaining some sense of perspective is rewarding.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING FOR YOU?
“Overcoming all of the obstacles, including sometimes the odds, and winning the case for the client knowing you’ve got a well-financed insurance company with very good opposing counsel against you — sometimes with a client who’s maybe not the best historian in terms of the facts and a system which sometimes does not deliver the appropriate benefits unless you just prod and kick and file suit to make sure it does ultimately benefit the individual. You also have to fight a big public perception, which is that people on workers compensation are scammers when the truth is the opposite. The vast majority are legitimately hurt.”
WHAT’S YOUR LONG-TERM GOAL?
“Turning the firm over to the next generation,” said Rotchford.
— by Monica Chamness