By his own calculations, Donald Nichols made 50 cents an hour on his first case as a lawyer in private practice, helping tenants sue a shopping center in 1974. “For 10 years I did everything that walked in the door. I did incorporations, I did divorce work — everything I could do,” said Nichols, now 68.
A decade after striking out on his own with a part-time secretary, he undertook a series of cases that helped him find his niche: representing McDonald’s restaurant workers who sued after being forced to take lie-detector tests when money went missing. The cases brought in healthy fees and made Kaster feel that he was helping deserving people.
