Once you invoke the ghost of Atticus Finch, you have definitely upped the moral ante.
So a piece of software that lets people near-instantly issue a clarion call for an attorney – an app named Atticus – arrives with some sky-high expectations and a lot of baggage.
Still, it is traffic tickets we are talking about here, not a life-or-death, freedom-or-prison, racism-or-fairness trial in some Depression-era, Southern courtroom. Yes, parking tickets.
So, calm down there, Scout.
But still, traffic violations can involve some serious coin and potential hikes with insurance rate, not to mention a fierce sense of injustice (Well, sometimes) and the potential for a serious escalation. So Atticus – the app, that is – may have a marketable angle.
The company behind Atticus says just one in 20 ticket recipients hires a lawyer to fight their tickets in court. A single ticket can boost an average policyholder’s auto insurance premiums by 22 percent, they say.
Okay, not To Kill A Mockingbird . But still…
The app was developed in Atlanta Tech Village using – like so many apps and ambitious business plans – the stunning success of Uber as a model.
It was launched in September.
Company officials describe Atticus as an "on-demand legal marketplace connecting traffic ticket recipients with licensed attorneys to defend their violations and go to court on their behalf."
You download the app, upload a picture of your parking ticket and hire an attorney. There’s a flat rate of $249 for the legal services.
The company was founded by Michael LaScala, an attorney specializing in (of course!) criminal defense. It has financial backing from none other than former Atlanta Falcon Roddy White, who has had his own experiences in the area of enforcement interactions while driving a vehicle.
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