Legal Question in Health Care Law in California

No. Your lawyer would fire you; at best you would be in the position of having to find a successor lawyer, and word would get around that you tried to bypass (or stiff) your lawyer. You would not be able to negotiate a settlement on your own, so in all likelihood you would get 0.

I completely disagree with Mr. Stone. First off, he never says you legally cannot contact the other side, because he knows you legally can. Your lawyer is prohibited from direct contact with another attorney's client in the case, but the parties are free to communicate and public policy encourages it. In addition, you are entitled to control your case, not your lawyer. Your lawyer is not entitled to string the case along to get a bigger fee. Any lawyer who would fire you for talking to the other side to try to settle is a lawyer you should fire. With that said, however, I would strongly recommend against contacting the other side without your lawyer knowing about it and advising you on how to handle it. If it would be strategically desireable to contact the other side driectly, your likelyhood of success is much greater with thorough coaching from your attorney. It is also possible that there are good reasons for you not to talk to the other side or not at this point, for example if there is something pending in the case that will strengthen your position, and talking to them would be premature. Any attorney worth their bar card should be more than willing to talk to you about the pros, cons and timing of talking directly to the other side, and either help you do it, or explain to you why you shouldn't or shoudn't right now. If you have an attorney like Mr. Stone who just says "Don't do it and if you do I'll quit," just tell them they're fired, and find someone who will give you and your wishes in the case the respect and service that you deserve.