Lawyers can make positive contributions

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Was reading the paper the other day, Sacto Bee, Dan Walters. Funny thing to find something worthwhile in that paper.

Anyway, Prop 64 was passed here a few years ago to stop, or deter, frivolous lawsuits. You had to show damages to sue. Some attorney got the idea to sue businesses that use illegal aliens and gain an unfair business advantage.

For example, two contractors bid a job. The guy that is using illegal aliens to do his electric for half what an electrician would charge, his plumbing and framing and everything else done in the same manner. Pay them under the table, or dirt wages on a fake SSN, saves a lot of dough. The guy doing it legally, using legal aliens or US citizens, qualified electricians, the whole schlamiel, can't come close to the other guys bid, and loses out, his crew goes hungry, moves away, contractor goes bankrupt, whatever.

Setting aside the construction quality issues for another discussion, the fellow employing illegal aliens clearly has an advantage with respect to price. This is how a lot of contracts are bid. The lawyer takes this to a State Civil court, sues the guy employing illegals and does the work that the Federal Govt has refused to do.

A rare, positive contribution by attorneys.

Joeaksa · 07-07-2006, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tobra
A rare, positive contribution by attorneys.

I see just another way to line lawyers pockets and even futher clog the courts. Wonder if Ben Franklin was correct when he said we should "kill half the lawyers" and when should we start?

Mr_Wizard · 07-07-2006, 07:07 AM

Living in a military town, there is an overabundance of lawyers here, and most are ambulance chasers or divorce lawyers. Recently I was having a problem with a pool company. I had paid for the pool and no work was being done. So I spoke with the sheriffs department and a lawyer. The police filed a report and the lawyer, just made a quick phone call for me. They put the pool up that weekend. So my hatred for lawyers dropped a few notches.

Joeaksa · 07-07-2006, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by john_cramer
Uhh, Joe, that wasn't Ben Franklin, it was Shakespeare, and it's actually a line from Henry VI, uttered by a character named "Dick the Butcher," who says it in the context of his own vision of "Utopia" in a discussion with Jack Cade, pretender to the crown.

You may now resume your regularly-scheduled lawyer bashing. It is my earnest hope that your own liberty or property never require the defense of a member of our profession. Like handguns, we are despised. . . until you really need us.

John,

We all know that we need lawyers at times but we as well wish that you guys would police your own ranks. The ambulance chasers and others that you know very well leave a stain on the entire profession.

Most of us feel that most of the lawyers are good but there are too many of them (it seems) and the bad ones are really bad...

Thanks for the correction. Learned something so the day is not lost!

Fly safe,

JoeA

PS was married to a lawyers daughter years ago. It did leave a lasting impression...

Dantilla · 07-07-2006, 09:03 AM

Some of the best "Return on Investment" for me has been what I paid a good attorney.

It's just that 98% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeaksa
PS was married to a lawyers daughter years ago. It did leave a lasting impression...

Scars will do that...But then so will fireplace pokers...

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by john_cramer
Uhh, Joe, that wasn't Ben Franklin, it was Shakespeare, and it's actually a line from Henry VI, uttered by a character named "Dick the Butcher," who says it in the context of his own vision of "Utopia" in a discussion with Jack Cade, pretender to the crown.

You may now resume your regularly-scheduled lawyer bashing. It is my earnest hope that your own liberty or property never require the defense of a member of our profession. Like handguns, we are despised. . . until you really need us.

First off, lets kill all the lawyers, it is not half, it is the Bard.

My father is an attorney, I personally know a very large number of attorneys who are professional, and would never consider doing anything in the least bit shady. I have probably only come across a few sketchy lawyers.

That said, IMHO, one of the biggest problems in the country is tort abuse. Prop 64 was a positive thing. The litigation I described above is a case of the civil courts able to act when the federal government has coninuously failed to do so. My point was that, not to bash lawyers.

What do you call a bus load of lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start.

Why is it that California has the most lawyers and New Jersey has the most toxic waste dumps?

New Jersey got first choice.

I got a million of 'em(well, not literally)

Dantilla · 07-08-2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tobra
IMHO, one of the biggest problems in the country is tort abuse.

+1.5

oldE · 07-08-2006, 12:29 PM

Oh yeah! Tort abuse. Like when some girl, just 'cause she looks kind of hot and maybe, you know, kind of easy gets slapped around when some guy finds out she's not interested.... Oh wait. I thought you meant something else.

How about the lawyer who did Sonny & Cher's divorce. He did the work pro bono.

In all seriousness, I like living in a small town. When I got my severance package, I was urged to take the documents to a lawyer. Walked into his office, used up about a half hour of his time and when I asked what his bill was, was told, "Aw don't worry about it. You'll have some real work for me someday."

Les

Hugh R · 07-08-2006, 01:25 PM

Sold my last house to a lawyer, and he sued me promptly. He sued for everything that I disclosed, agreed to disagree on and even things I gave him money for in escrow. My mistake was getting the wrong lawyer to defend me. I tried to get a summary judgement, and the judge wouldn't consider it. He said that the items I brought up were matters of fact for a jury to decide, not matters of law (like did the guy miss a statute of limitations). Biggest tactic in court seems to be motion the other party to death, bring in all your expert witness buddies to have deposed and keep draining the defandants wallet until he runs out of money. I'll never sell a house to a lawyer again. You can't discriminate on race, sex, creed, etc. But the law doesn't say occupation.