History Main / AmbulanceChaser

* Even before being seduced into a murder plot in ''Film/BodyHeat'', it's clear that Ned Racine is a particularly disreputable low-rent lawyer.

* The AmoralAttorney in Film/{{North}} is introduced in this manner.

* ''Literature/TheBookOfMormon'' depicts a city where the lawyers deliberately "stir up the people to riotings, and all manner of disturbances and wickedness, that they might have more employ". They don't take kindly to the missionaries calling them out.

'''Hutz''': Mr. Simpson, this is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film ''Film/TheNeverendingStory''.\\

** All of the above notwithstanding, Hutz was also capable of grabbing the SmartBall whenever an episode's plot required it. In "New Kid On The Block", Hutz '''won''' the lawsuit Homer filed against the Frying Dutchman restaurant, in part by being lucky enough to have a jury full of fat people and in part by putting Marge on the stand and pointing out that the lengths they went to find another all-you-can-eat fish restaurant were not those of a man who'd had "all he could eat." In "Flaming Moe's", Homer tries to sue Moe for stealing a drink recipe that Moe stole from him, but Hutz actually bothers to do some research and points out that you can't copyright a drink:

* An episode of ''Series/LoisAndClark'' features one.

This trope is usually played for laughs, as the more corrupt the Ambulance Chaser, the more ridiculous his or her cases will be.

Note that within the legal profession, calling someone an ambulance chaser is equivalent to calling him/her bottom-feeding scum. The "polite" term (in North America at any rate) is "plaintiff's lawyer" or "personal-injury lawyer/attorney"...but even that doesn't do much to hide the disdain of pretty much every other form of lawyer for them. If a legal professional specifically refers to an attorney as an "ambulance chaser", they're straight-up calling them an asshole. Still, while they may not exactly be the most upstanding members of the legal profession, they stay around because the cases that they take, while seemingly asinine and ridiculous (and they very well may be), still have some basic legal ground, and no smart attorney is going to take a truly frivolous case. Doing so counts as barratry, and attorneys who repeatedly take ridiculous cases with no legal merit can and frequently will get disbarred. Contingent fee setups also offer a strong disincentive to accepting questionable cases, as the prospect of eating the cost of an unsuccessful case is something that gives most attorneys a very good reason to make a solid inquiry into the facts of the case before choosing to pursue it. If it's either complete bullshit or has no legal backing, they ''will'' decline unless they really want to get an entry on their public disciplinary record (or they think they can quickly settle it, which often leads right back to the former). Some attorneys do get duped, however; sometimes, clients will lie or omit significant portions of the story (i.e., a personal injury client telling their attorney that the defendant jumped them, but leaving out the part where they violently attacked the defendant and instigated the matter, the defendant got away, and the plaintiff wanted a second go and hunted them down); the dividing line is that a legitimate attorney will cease representation after learning of the deception, while a dirtbag will keep pursuing the case to the bitter end. Extreme rudeness and incivility in representation is also strongly discouraged, as it's a very easy way to get hit with sanctions when the opposing side reports to the judge that you've been a gigantic dick to them for no good reason. If your impertinence crosses into outright misconduct, you very well may lose what may have actually been a legitimate case for your client, as there are also very clear rules about how clients cannot profit from the unethical behavior of their attorneys, ''even'' if they likely would have had a favorable determination otherwise, and that sort of outcome will get you sued for malpractice by your furious client.

* Mitchell Stephens of Film/TheSweetHereafter says he knows he comes across as this, but he doesn't care - his real goal is to make lawsuits so costly for corporations that they'll take the time and spend the money on safety, instead of cutting costs and putting other people at risk.

* Referenced in ''Series/PushingDaisies'', when the main characters, a private investigation team, see a cropduster crash into a building. They then go over there and Chuck says that she's asking without any judgement whether this behaviour qualifies as ambulance chasing. Emerson says "if you're asking without any judgement then yes it does."

* An episode of ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' dealt with an unscrupulous lawyer being held in a small town which metes out DisproportionateRetribution through it's court system. The lawyer was going to be given ten lashes for having too many numbers on her license plate. [[spoiler: As a FateWorseThanDeath, she winds up replacing the defense attorney... and is going to remain as such until someone from the outside world stumbles into town and replaces her.]]

* ''Series/LethalWeapon2016'' has Leo Getz, who seems the archetypical ambulance chaser. However late in the episode he makes the point that while he would do fine in a legitimate firm, there are very few lawyers in those firms that could survive in his world.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has the partnership collective, a hivemind of lawyer snakes. After a certain story arc, the protagonists are tasked with and paid for "administering punitive damages" against the collective for damage the Collective caused in a revenge plan against Tagon's Toughs. Mainly done by blowing up attorneys and their property. At a point in the comic, they take on to patrolling coffee shops, ambulance companies and divorce courts because of just losing their ship and being broke.

** All of the above notwithstanding, Hutz was also capable of grabbing the SmartBall whenever an episode's plot required it. In "New Kid On The Block", Hutz '''won''' the lawsuit Homer filed against the Frying Dutchman restaurant, in part by being lucky enough to have a jury full of fat people and in part by putting Marge on the stand and pointing out that the lengths they went to to find another all-you-can eat fish restaurant were not those of a man who'd had "all he could eat." In "Flaming Moe's", Homer tries to sue Moe for stealing a drink recipe that Moe stole from him, but Hutz actually bothers to do some research and points out that you can't copyright a drink:

* In Disney's ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', one of the townspeople dismiss Hercules as "just another [[HoldYourHippogriffs chariot chaser]]."[[note]]This is odd, because he's trying to establish himself as a hero, and not some equivalent to a lawyer.[[/note]]

* There is Joe Addler from ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'', who has ads on TV about lawsuits concerning whiplash damage, and taking on frivolous sexual harrasment cases. In one episode, when asked if he had ever been jailed for contempt of court, he answers that he "believe[s] that was among the charges, yes."

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' in which the title character is [[ItsAWonderfulPlot shown a world where he didn't exist]] the Monster Across the Street (or rather, The Monster Who Lives Down The Block) has become this type of lawyer. He literally drops a conversation with BJ to chase down an ambulance.

Note that within the legal profession, calling someone an ambulance chaser is equivalent to calling him/her bottom-feeding scum. The "polite" term (in North America at any rate) is "plaintiff's lawyer" or "personal-injury lawyer/attorney"...but even that doesn't do much to hide the disdain of pretty much every other form of lawyer for them. If a legal professional specifically refers to an attorney as an "ambulance chaser", they're straight-up calling them an asshole. Still, while they may not exactly be the most upstanding members of the legal profession, they stay around because the cases that they take, while seemingly asinine and ridiculous (and they very well may be), still have some basic legal ground, and no smart attorney is going to take a truly frivolous case. Doing so counts as barratry, and attorneys who repeatedly take ridiculous cases with no legal merit can and frequently will get disbarred. Contingent fee setups also offer a strong disincentive to accepting questionable cases, as the prospect of eating the cost of an unsuccessful case is something that gives most attorneys a very good reason to make a solid inquiry into the facts of the case before choosing to pursue it. If it's either complete bullshit or has no legal backing, they ''will'' decline unless they really want to get an entry on their public disciplinary record (or they think they can quickly settle it, which often leads right back to the former). Extreme rudeness and incivility in representation is also strongly discouraged, as it's a very easy way to get hit with sanctions when the opposing side reports to the judge that you've been a gigantic dick to them for no good reason. If your impertinence crosses into outright misconduct, you very well may lose what may have actually been a legitimate case for your client, as there are also very clear rules about how clients cannot profit from the unethical behavior of their attorneys, ''even'' if they likely would have had a favorable determination otherwise, and that sort of outcome will get you sued for malpractice by your furious client.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Saul Goodman from ''Series/BreakingBad'' and his own spinoff ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' is a clear example of this, complete with garish, low-budget TV commercials that would make [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Lionel Hutz]] jealous. However, [[ObfuscatingStupidity he is actually deliberately cultivating this image]] in order to hide both how incredibly competent and incredibly ''crooked'' he actually is. See also his entry in AmoralAttorney. He tried to be a competent desk lawyer in the past but realized he needs the showmanship and his ethic is too garbage for it.

The Ambulance Chaser shows up when HilaritySues. Expect comments of ambulance chasing in a good EvilLawyerJoke. For the dramatic, competent, defense attorney version, see AmoralAttorney. Ambulance chasing lawyers [[WebSite/AdTurds often appear in commercials on TV]].

* In ''Film/RatRace'', an attorney was nearby when a man got run over by an ''ambulance'' and was ready to make this man into a client. Knowing the attorney's reputation, the driver quickly agreed to give the man a ride.

* Saul Goodman from ''Series/BreakingBad'' and his own spinoff ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' is a clear example of this, complete with garish, low-budget TV commercials that would make [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Lionel Hutz]] jealous. However, [[ObfuscatingStupidity he is actually deliberately cultivating this image]] in order to hide both how incredibly competent and incredibly ''crooked'' he actually is. See also his entry in AmoralAttorney.

* Even before being seduced into a murder plot in ''Film/BodyHeat'', it's clear that William Hurt's character is a particularly disreputable low-rent lawyer.

* Garrett Price, the attorney in the ''Series/{{Monk}}'' episode "Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic" that Monk and Natalie meet during a traffic stoppage following a car accident. He reappears in "Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus".

* WebOriginal/NotAlwaysRight has [[http://notalwaysright.com/it-turns-out-you-can-be-too-safe/ this story]] which inverts it. The lawyer is more worried about the fact that his client has a relative who's seriously hurt, while the client is the one concerned about lawsuits.

Note that within the legal profession, calling someone an ambulance chaser is equivalent to calling him/her bottom-feeding scum. The "polite" term (in North America at any rate) is "plaintiff's lawyer" or "personal-injury lawyer/attorney"...but even that doesn't do much to hide the disdain of pretty much every other form of lawyer for them. If a legal professional specifically refers to an attorney as an "ambulance chaser", they're straight-up calling them an asshole. Still, while they may not exactly be the most upstanding members of the legal profession, they stay around because the cases that they take, while seemingly asinine and ridiculous (and they very well may be), still have some basic legal ground, and no smart attorney is going to take a truly frivolous case. Doing so counts as barratry, and attorneys who repeatedly take ridiculous cases with no legal merit can and frequently will get disbarred. Contingent fee setups also offer a strong disincentive to accepting questionable cases, as the prospect of eating the cost of an unsuccessful case is something that gives most attorneys a very good reason to make a solid inquiry into the facts of the case before choosing to pursue it. If it's either complete bullshit or has no legal backing, they ''will'' decline unless they really want to get an entry on their public disciplinary record (or they think they can quickly settle it, which often leads right back to the former).

[[folder:Web Original]

* Saul Goodman from ''Series/BreakingBad'' and his own spinoff ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' is a clear example of this, though with a much darker and more complex background and business plan than most. [[ObfuscatingStupidity He actually seems to cultivate this image to both cover just how incredibly competent and crooked he is]]. See also his entry in AmoralAttorney.

Note that within the legal profession, calling someone an ambulance chaser is equivalent to calling him/her bottom-feeding scum. The "polite" term (in North America at any rate) is "plaintiff's lawyer" or "personal-injury lawyer/attorney"...but even that doesn't do much to hide the disdain of pretty much every other form of lawyer for them. Still, while they may not exactly be the most upstanding members of the legal profession, they stay around because the cases that they take, while seemingly asinine and ridiculous (and they very well may be), still have some basic legal ground, and no smart attorney is going to take a truly frivolous case. Doing so counts as barratry, and attorneys who repeatedly take ridiculous cases with no legal merit can and frequently will get disbarred. Contingent fee setups also offer a strong disincentive to accepting questionable cases, as the prospect of eating the cost of an unsuccessful case is something that gives most attorneys a very good reason to make a solid inquiry into the facts of the case before choosing to pursue it. If it's either complete bullshit or has no legal backing, they ''will'' decline unless they really want to get an entry on their public disciplinary record (or they think they can quickly settle it, which often leads right back to the former).

* Roland T. Flakfizer from ''Film/BrainDonors'' is a ''literal'' Ambulance Chaser -- his very first appearance in the film features him chasing an ambulance ''on foot'' to the scene of an automobile accident, where he immediately begins to yell about the impending lawsuits he plans to file.