Re: [Leica] Uh.... earth to wannabe lawyers

[SthRosner@aol.com]

Thank you, Dante.

Here's more food for thought: a decade ago the American Bar Association 
engaged the Peter Hart Organization to run a survey on public opinion about 
the legal profession. Some results were unsurprising: lawyers were way down 
the list of occupations. Several were startling of which this was perhaps the 
most: over 70% of the respondents amswered "but my lawyer is terrific." That 
should tell us something.

The United States is without question the most litigious society in the 
history of the universe - or anywhere else. It was so when de Tocqueville 
visited and wrote about us a century-and-a-half ago. We've only gotten 
moreso. Lawyers are not the parties to litigation (with very rare exception 
when we become mere people), they are the representatives of litigants. It 
requires a person who believes she has a right or claim that is unanswered to 
start a lawsuit and, usually, a lawyer to go to war for her.

Asked about the tactics of lawyers, most respondents said lawyers were much 
too tricky, nasty, even lying (although a trial lawyer is never a witness, 
simply an examiner of witnesses and introducer of evidence). But when asked 
what they expected of their lawyers, they uniformly wanted their lawyers to 
use every trick, be as deceptive and as much a shark or barracuda as 
necessary TO WIN THE CASE.

A person injured in an ACCIDENT, a mischance, 50 years ago most often said to 
herself, my bad luck to be in that place at that time. Today, whether or not 
anyone IS AT FAULT, that person looks around and says to herself, I've been 
hurt, SOMEONE MUST PAY. The result is a pushing on the limits of what is 
actionable. But a lawyer is the agent who goes to bat for that plaintiff. 
That is not to say that there are no money-grubbing lawyers who stir up 
litigation, there are and that is a bad thing. 

And look at the types of matter that now comes into our courts, that not so 
many years ago would have been resolved without resort to the court system: 
just now on the morning news I heard about a 15-year-old who is suing not to 
have to visit a parent who is a smoker, claiming that the smell if offensive 
and that secon-hand smoke is dangerous to his health. Who on earth believes 
that something like this should have to go to court? When our justice system 
is already groaning with 10 times mores civil litigation than it can handle - 
putting aside the burden of the criiminal justice system.

But lawyers in this country each year do literally millions of hours of legal 
work pro bono, that is without compensation (other than the very good feeling 
it gives) for people, clients, who cannot afford to pay their fees. 

There is no person other than a lawyer who can and will stand between 
citizens - and resident aliens ---- and even undocumented aliens - and the 
government when it threatens a citizen or alien.

Folks, you do away with lawyers and watch what kind of a jungle a society 
becomes. A jungle where only the strongest survive.

All those wishing to live in that society, take one step forward.

Seth        LaK 9
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