[Bluntpoint]

The American rule permits morally obtuse attorneys to practice in an environment where they are not accountabe for even their most egregious actions.

Attorneys rely on the reciprocal bad faith of other attorneys for their incomes.

[blau993]

As with most gross generalizations, your's is way off.

A great many attorneys, myself among them, would like to see the courts have greater latitude in awarding counsel fees and costs to prevailing parties. I have seen too many clients knuckle under to settlements in bad cases because they could not afford the cost of fighting the case, even though they were almost certain to prevail. You are correct that there are some morally deficient lawyers who use this to milk the system, and I would dearly love to see them put out of business, but it is not the whole profession or anything close to it.