Joseph L. Eggleston - Motorcycle Accident Attorney Profile

My interest in the law started in my teenage years when I met an attorney who mentored me by giving me his old law books. I read every one of them, cover to cover, and realized at an early age that I enjoyed studying and researching the law. Since this was in the late 50’s and early 60’s, my interest in the law was also shaped and would be shaped further by the times into a nearly fanatical obsession with our rights as a free democratic people.

My hair became longer and my causes were well established by the turbulence of those years. My biggest fears, then and now are that apathy will allow the Military/Industrial Complex, corporate greed the insurance industry (the only industry left in the USA that is NOT subject to Federal anti- trust laws) and/or the government (as our nanny) to slowly erode our inalienable rights as human beings to be left alone to live our lives and make our mistakes as human beings without being condemned unless it harms someone else. Call it freedom of choice, freedom of expression, freedom of association or just the inherent overall freedom to be different from everyone else, this need exists in many people but is constantly being suppressed by a fearful and prejudiced society who only wants assimilation with and non-confrontation to their perceived view of a perfect society.

I was married and had a son at 18 years of age and a daughter five years later. I worked two jobs to support us during this period, while going to college full time. One of the jobs was as a Field Deputy Probation Officer for juveniles wherein I was closer to the minors in age than to their parents which gave me a unique perspective when counseling each of them. In 1969, I went to work for the court system as a Deputy Clerk and experienced even more prejudice against my long hair and choice of clothing. I refused to cut my hair or compromise my lifestyle, and was banned from a few courtrooms for a couple of years until the last bastion of conservatism (the courts) finally realized that it was wrong to prejudice a person merely for the way he or she looks. I quickly advanced up the ladder in the courts while working with hundreds of judges and thousands of attorneys and other courtroom personnel in all areas of the law and gained broad experienced from the inside. While a Court Clerk I also did research for a number of judges and so impressed them that they signed a petition to get me into a local law school on a special grant (I could not afford full tuition). I went to law school at night while working full time as a Court Clerk during the day.

I graduated in three years and three months, then took the State Bar Exam and passed it on my first attempt. I quit my job as Court Clerk and opened up my own law office starting out as a general practitioner. I was appointed to over 600 criminal cases the first four months I was in practice due to my many contacts in the court system and ended up handling over 1,000 criminal cases before I decided to specialize in personal injury. In 1983, Richard M. Lester (who I had known from the first days of law school and had become very close to) was beings asked to go around and give talks to various motorcyclists groups, and felt that these people’s rights and needs needed to be represented. He started the A.I.M. program and started taking in motorcycle accident personal injury cases. He wanted to expand and asked if I would become his partner and open up the first satellite office for the firm. I signed up my first motorcycle accident victim in 1983, and (after winding down my general practice) have devoted my practice almost exclusively to representing injured victims (or the deceased’s families) of motorcycle accidents.

I say “almost exclusively” because I have also been very active in fighting harassment of and discrimination against motorcyclists.

My firm is associated with over 150 other attorneys, solicitor and barrister firms all over North America (most of whom ride) which are banded together to represent motorcyclists as the A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Attorney Association (our AAA), of which I am proud to be Chairman.

I have personally attended over 500 M/C runs, events and meetings since 1983 and have met thousands of motorcyclists from all over the world and especially from the Southwest portion of the U.S. I have always advocated increased communication within the motorcycling community and I am proud to call many of them friends.

Our A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) program now has over two million members. A significant percentage of the attorney fees collected through this program is what funds the N.C.O.M. (National Coalition of Motorcyclists) a national MRO. I give a percentage of my attorney fees back to be used to help motorcyclists.

Our firm is also the founder of the Confederation of Clubs, now located in the majority of states (some of the larger states with multiple confederations) all over the U.S.A. which have brought patch riders of clubs together to fight discrimination and harassment along with their states MRO’s.

I believe in giving the best service possible to our injured motorcycle accident victims or their families.

I answer all client calls immediately if I am in, and no later than the next business day if I am out, unless I am somewhere where I cannot (i.e. on the road, at a run or on vacation) get back, in which case one of my staff will return the call.

I will handle your property damage for free, without a fee, so long as I am representing you on your bodily injury claim.

You will be advised of everything that’s happening on your claim, when it happens (this includes any bad news, as well as the good news).

I will bring your claim to a resolution as quickly as the circumstances under my control permit, but not before you are ready to conclude it.

When it comes down to negotiations, you will be fully advised and I will make recommendations, but the ultimate decision will be yours since you are the boss.

I hope the above gives you some inkling of what I am about.

Joseph L. Eggleston
A.I.M. Attorney
Chairman – A.I.M. Attorneys Association
Advisor – ACMC, MMA, SDCOC