Posted on 12/09/2002 7:42:13 AM PST by sfwarrior
Lawyers have the only profession with a virtual cottage industry of mean-spirited jokes aimed against them.
The lawyer jokes were created as a peaceful outlet to vent the extreme frustration many Americans feel about a system that's rigged to benefit lawyers at the expense of citizens.
This is not a new sentiment. Back in the '50s, the Three Stooges had a skit in which they played lawyers. Their law firm was called Dewey, Cheatem and Howe.
There's much support for this sentiment, and the corrupt legal system does indeed need a huge overhaul.
Taxpayers don't know whether they're criminals or not. There are some 20,000 pages of IRS tax codes. They were written by lawyers, are interpreted by lawyers and continue to reap a windfall to lawyers. The codes are a result of corporate lobbying by lawyers on behalf of their clients. Given the complexity of the codes, any one of us could be a criminal at any time. The situation is much like Dorothy looking for the wizard in the Emerald City, only to find a pathetic old con man behind the curtain. Unfortunately, the old con man holds our fate in his hands. We know it's ridiculous and intolerable, but we feel helpless to change the situation.
There's an attorney for every goofy case. And, unfortunately, many of these cases are not thrown out, and many of them result in plaintiffs receiving outrageous awards from juries. The system frequently works with an attorney willing to take the case on a contingency fee. They're in there for a share of the profit. Now, not every lawsuit is a scam. However, often plaintiff and lawyer are partners in a scheme to shake down whomever they can, and they do.
This scheme is clearly a potential conflict of interest if a lawyer won't settle early, even if an injured client wants to, because the lawyer has an equal stake in the outcome. That our courts and legislatures allow this malevolent scheme to continue is shameful.
How bad is the system? It's out of control when we have a system that allows dogs to sue cats. Consider this case: When Richard Espinosa and his 50-pound Labrador-mix dog, Kimba, visited the Escondido city library last fall, L.C., the 10-pound library cat, allegedly attacked the dog, causing $46.49 in veterinary bills for Kimba and a $38 charge from Espinosa's chiropractor. Espinosa has filed a claim against the city for $1.5 million.
He also wants the cat declawed and the library to post a warning sign. According to the claim, the attack caused the following injuries: "significant lasting, extreme and severe mental anguish and emotional distress including, but not limited to, terror, humiliation, shame, embarrassment, mortification, chagrin, depression, panic, anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, loss of sleep (and) loss of full enjoyment of life as well as other physical and mental afflictions and pain, suffering."
Catherine Crier, the former judge who now hosts "Crier Live" on Court TV, writes in her compelling new book, "The Case Against Lawyers," about our screwy legal system and the law profession's role in creating this monster, "Why is it that if you can't kick nicotine, you can win a lawsuit for billions, but if you can't kick another drug, you can go to prison?"
It was the lawyers who got the billions in the tobacco settlement with the nation's attorneys-general; the individual smokers didn't get a dime. States shared the bounty with private lawyers -- fees to attorneys were in the billions. They have now set a new bar for greed in ripping off private industry. The tobacco settlement was what many commentators are now calling the single biggest wealth transfer in our nation's history.
Consider that now some fat kids are suing McDonald's, blaming the restaurant chain for their obesity. Why don't they just sue their mothers for taking them to McDonald's and giving them the money to buy the junk food? Give me a break. And you thought a woman collecting millions when she spilled hot coffee on herself was an anomaly.
You can't blame only these greedy lawyers. It's the judges who allow these cases to be heard, and it's the juries that are awarding these jaw-dropping judgments. The lawyers simply say, "That's the American way" -- all the way to the bank. All the lawyers must do is find industries that in any way contributed to a problem and then get them to pay 200 percent of all economic costs, plus all past and future costs, including theoretical costs, not just for their clients but for an entire class of people. Moreover, additional punitive costs can be several times more of the actual damages. That's a good way to bankrupt American industry.
The precise economic effects of such a huge tort burden on the American economy are hard to measure directly but are nonetheless significant, according to a study conducted this year by the actuarial firm of Tillinghast-Towers Perrin. The United States continues to have the most expensive civil-justice system of the 12 industrialized nations studied, according to the report, "U.S. Tort Costs 2000: Trends and Findings on the Costs of the U.S. Tort System." Among the report's highlights: The U.S. civil-justice system costs 1.8 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, or $636 per person. In 1950, the system cost $12 per person.
Moreover, individuals suffer from the high price of insurance and the increased cost of goods and services. Businesses are hurt by the higher prices they must charge to pay their insurance costs. Children are hurt by the loss of playgrounds at many schools, housing developments and public spaces due to fear of lawsuit liability. Companies and/or entire industries such as boat and single-engine... (READ THE ENTIRE STORY-CLICK THE LINK BELOW)
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
And what animals inhabit/constitute these worlds?(Politicians/judges)
Well, as I said, I don't believe the state has any business regulating the off-duty hours of licensed professionals . . . But I didn't write the law. It was written by state legislators, most of whom are lawyers. Why hasn't it been contested as unconstitutional under state laws? And if it is deemed constitutional, why hasn't legislation been put forward to amend that state's constitution to stop government interference in private enterprise?
To the best of my recollection, Bill Clinton was not disbarred. He voluntarily surrendered his Arkansas law license for five years.
Actually, the rule was put in place by the chief administrator of the courts, not by the state legislature, and there are cases out there indicating that the rule does not implicate the taking clause because its a condition for being allowed to practice law.
The unfortunate fact here in Illinois is, the only people who can afford to belong to the legislature are attorneys. State House races in the Chicago area can cost several hundred thousand dollars, to "win" a job that pays about $35,000 annually.
This may be true in many states. The pay for a State Representative is quite low -- it was never meant to be a full-time job -- and the hours are quite long -- what was supposed to be a part-time job three months a year has blossomed into a career, with many state legislatures meeting year-round. When the legislature isn't in session, the rep is usually out meeting with constituents, spending time in his district office(s) (if he has a large area as his district, he may have offices in several counties), or campaigning. That doesn't leave a lot of time for earning money to support himself.
A lawyer can be a partner in a firm, and the firm subsidizes his legislative efforts because it's nice to have political connections if you deal with any state industries. Of all the state reps in Illinois, I can only think of one who is not an attorney. He's the oldest son of a family who owns a real-estate and construction firm. They ran him for State Representative because he was such a scr*w-up he was costing the business money and they wanted to get him out of the way (He's my State Senator now. Lucky me.)
I believe that's true. But I don't think being disbarred by the Supreme Court prohibits a lawyer from practicing law. It simply means he cannot appear as a lawyer on a case before the Supreme Court.
I remember something about that incident that struck me as, "well, who cares then." Most attorneys never appear before the Supreme Court, so most aren't qualified to do so. They still practice law, but wouldn't be able to try a case beyond the jurisdiction of their state courts.
Thank you. That explains a lot.
I've often wondered why no one did anything about that. It seems overly dictatorial -- "If I let you have this, you have to let me have that." -- and no lawyer worth his salt (at least none that I know) puts up with that without a fight.
Does this apply specifically to trial lawyers, or is this required for all attorneys practicing in the state ?
Then you are lucky that you are not an engineer. Engineers DO have to give away their time and are not covered under Fair Labor laws because they are "professionals" not hourly wage earners. The Navy has fun awarding contracts to engineering companies that state that their engineers will work 48 hours per week, giving the Navy the last 8 hours per week. The engineers then have to work 8 hours per week for free.
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