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The role of personal injury lawyers in our legal system often goes underappreciated, yet their absence would have a profound impact on victims of negligence and the justice system. This year, we challenged students to imagine and articulate what a world without personal injury lawyers might look like.
As personal injury attorneys in Columbia, we at SBLTV Law understand just how critical legal representation is in helping individuals recover from injuries. So, for our 2025 college scholarship essay contest, we posed the question:
What would a world be like without personal injury lawyers?
We were so honored to receive an abundance of essays from students across the country, each offering a unique and thoughtful perspective. The essays addressed corporate responsibility, individual rights, and access to justice. After reviewing the entries with great care, we’re excited to announce our 2025 scholarship winner: Porter Alexander Tynes, III from the University of Georgia School of Law.
His essay stood out for its depth, imagination, and thorough understanding of the ripple effects that would result from removing personal injury attorneys from our legal landscape. His writing brought attention to the real-life consequences for workers, consumers, and everyday families who rely on legal advocates to stand up against powerful interests.
Here’s his winning essay:
A World Without Personal Injury Lawyers
Porter Alexander Tynes, III
Imagine Highway 64 in Memphis just after rush hour, sunlight bouncing off windshields, brake lights flashing like Morse code. That’s where my aunt’s life veered off course. A distracted driver ran a red light, slamming into her car. In seconds: a totaled car, a bruised leg, and two shaken passengers—my aunt and my little cousin in the back seat. However, what if that crash had happened in a world without personal injury attorneys?
In that world, my aunt would have faced the insurance company alone. She wouldn’t have known that the adjuster’s first offer barely covered her ER visit. She wouldn’t have had someone to investigate the scene, pull the traffic cam footage, or demand fair compensation for her child’s trauma. Her pain would have been hers to carry, physically, emotionally, and financially. This isn’t just about one family on one Memphis highway. It’s about what happens to fairness when no one is hired to fight for it. Without personal injury lawyers, the legal system becomes a maze only the powerful can navigate. Individuals, especially working-class people, single parents, and the elderly, would be left to fend for themselves against insurance teams and corporate legal departments. The right to “have your day in court” would still exist, but only on paper.
Businesses might cheer at first. No lawyers means fewer lawsuits and lower liability. But without the threat of accountability, safety becomes optional. Defective products would go unchallenged. Dangerous shortcuts in construction or food production could slip by unnoticed. Companies that care would be undermined by those that cut corners. Eventually, consumers stop trusting—not just brands, but entire industries.
And society as a whole? We lose more than lawsuits. We lose deterrence. Personal injury attorneys don’t just help individuals. They push entire systems to be safer. Without them, seatbelts might still be optional. Tobacco ads might still target children. Hospitals might still cover up preventable errors. These lawyers shape behavior through accountability, and that, in turn, shapes culture.
We often treat personal injury lawyers as punchlines, until we need one. Until someone’s life is upended by a drunk driver, a defective crib, or a careless pharmacist. When that day comes, you don’t want a sympathy card. You want someone with subpoena power.
That wreck on Highway 64 could have ended very differently. Without her lawyer, my aunt might never have gotten her car replaced, her medical bills paid, or her voice heard. That lawyer didn’t erase the trauma, but they helped turn the page.
Personal injury lawyers don’t just file paperwork. They protect dignity. They restore balance. And in a world without them, justice would exist, but only for the people who could afford to chase it.
A Quote from This Year’s Winner
“Receiving this scholarship allows me to keep doing what I love: pursuing my purpose through the law. I am forever grateful to Smith, Born, Leventis, Taylor & Vega, LLC and the work they are doing.” -Alexander Porter Tynes, III