If you have been watching adds on TV, then you have heard those from law firms who say, "That is all we do" That simple statement is very significant as I will explain in this blog.
Everyday we see adds from law firms who only deal with cases related to products like "Round Up" or cases related to "Asbestos", or "personal injury". Do you think that these law firms are responsible and are providing a good public service? We hear these adds almost back-to-back so there must be something significant going on here. Now, what do you think that is? Are these law firms actually looking out for you and me or are they looking after "number one"? I think it is the latter.
It seems clear to me that this whole thing is like a "Gold Rush". That is where there is a discovery of a big pot of Gold and all the miners rush in to grab as much as they can. I think that these lawyers are much like the Gold miners of old. Our political system is dominated by lawyers. We all know that. Who do you think is pushing all the laws and regulations? It is these same lawyers who are cashing in on the newly discovered Gold. If you check the statistics, you will find that we have far more lawyers than any other country in the world and our lawyers earn more than lawyers any place in the world. Remember that there is no "free lunch" and that money has to come from some place. Think of what our economy would look like if 75% of our lawyers were doing something "productive" for the economy? Some of the smartest people that I knew from college are now lawyers digging Gold out of our society.
This is only part of the problem. Look at my title, "That is all we do". I thought that these guys were lawyers who represented the legal interests of the people. I was wrong! They only represent themselves and they do it in a very special way. They "specialize" just like the workers on the assembly lines in Henry Fords factory did 100 years ago. Remember my blog on "specialization"? I pointed out that with specialization people of much lower skill and intellect can function and be competitive. It appears to be the same with lawyers. If that is the case, why are we spending all this money training lawyers in our colleges and universities? Why don't we train them in our high schools? If they work for one of these, "that is all we do" law firms, what exactly do they need to know? I know of law firms that are so specialized that they already have the forms made up for the cases so that all a clerk has to do is to fill in a few blanks. They have these forms all pre-printed up and ready.
One reason that these lawyers charge so much is that it is "legal". They have been able to make laws and regulations that allow them a percentage of any settlement, plus their expenses on the side. Here is a classic situation. About 40 years ago there was a big case about Asbestos against several companies including Johns Manville . Rather than bankrupt the company and divide up the spoiles, the court decided that they could get more money from Johns Manville if they allowed the company to keep running and set aside money in a fund. Sounded good at the time for the defendants, but wait. I thought that with the fund, there would be no need for lawyers, a panel appointed by the judge could easily administer the distribution of the money to those deserving. That is not how it worked out. Law firms sprung up that were, "that is all we do" started getting a major cut out of the fund. Is that sick or what?
When you see these law firms advertising, "that is all we do" complain to your friends and political representative to see if there is not some way that this whole business can be changed. These guys are bleeding our country dry and many of us don't even know it!
Everyday we see adds from law firms who only deal with cases related to products like "Round Up" or cases related to "Asbestos", or "personal injury". Do you think that these law firms are responsible and are providing a good public service? We hear these adds almost back-to-back so there must be something significant going on here. Now, what do you think that is? Are these law firms actually looking out for you and me or are they looking after "number one"? I think it is the latter.
It seems clear to me that this whole thing is like a "Gold Rush". That is where there is a discovery of a big pot of Gold and all the miners rush in to grab as much as they can. I think that these lawyers are much like the Gold miners of old. Our political system is dominated by lawyers. We all know that. Who do you think is pushing all the laws and regulations? It is these same lawyers who are cashing in on the newly discovered Gold. If you check the statistics, you will find that we have far more lawyers than any other country in the world and our lawyers earn more than lawyers any place in the world. Remember that there is no "free lunch" and that money has to come from some place. Think of what our economy would look like if 75% of our lawyers were doing something "productive" for the economy? Some of the smartest people that I knew from college are now lawyers digging Gold out of our society.
This is only part of the problem. Look at my title, "That is all we do". I thought that these guys were lawyers who represented the legal interests of the people. I was wrong! They only represent themselves and they do it in a very special way. They "specialize" just like the workers on the assembly lines in Henry Fords factory did 100 years ago. Remember my blog on "specialization"? I pointed out that with specialization people of much lower skill and intellect can function and be competitive. It appears to be the same with lawyers. If that is the case, why are we spending all this money training lawyers in our colleges and universities? Why don't we train them in our high schools? If they work for one of these, "that is all we do" law firms, what exactly do they need to know? I know of law firms that are so specialized that they already have the forms made up for the cases so that all a clerk has to do is to fill in a few blanks. They have these forms all pre-printed up and ready.
One reason that these lawyers charge so much is that it is "legal". They have been able to make laws and regulations that allow them a percentage of any settlement, plus their expenses on the side. Here is a classic situation. About 40 years ago there was a big case about Asbestos against several companies including Johns Manville . Rather than bankrupt the company and divide up the spoiles, the court decided that they could get more money from Johns Manville if they allowed the company to keep running and set aside money in a fund. Sounded good at the time for the defendants, but wait. I thought that with the fund, there would be no need for lawyers, a panel appointed by the judge could easily administer the distribution of the money to those deserving. That is not how it worked out. Law firms sprung up that were, "that is all we do" started getting a major cut out of the fund. Is that sick or what?
When you see these law firms advertising, "that is all we do" complain to your friends and political representative to see if there is not some way that this whole business can be changed. These guys are bleeding our country dry and many of us don't even know it!
