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Where Have All The Good Lawyers Gone? Welcome to this month's SPECIAL EDITION of the Lawyers Stink Email Newsletter. This newsletter asks the burning question ..... "Where have all the good lawyers gone?" That sure seems like a fair question, given the increasingly lenient legal milieu so prevalent in this country, doesn't it? Maybe yes, then again, maybe no. I'll let you be the judge. Virtually every day of the week I receive one or more letters from lawyers around the country who have been offended by commentary on our web pages. They invariably complain that we paint a rather sorry picture of the legal profession. More often than not, these lawyers are good, honest people who are playing by the rules and are tired of seeing their profession depicted in an unfavorable light. Oh sure, we receive some letters from self righteous attorneys who pompously proclaim that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the legal industry and that people like myself are the REAL problem. Nice try guys. These lawyers, who are always quick to point the finger at everyone but themselves, have long ago sold out and are incapable of seeing the truth anymore. As Jack Nicholson's character said in A Few Good Men -- these lawyers "can't handle the truth." But by and large, I feel the lawyers who take the time to write us are the good guy lawyers who are really trying to make a difference. We applaud their laudable efforts, but like it or not, they are losing the battle in the courts of public opinion. The legal profession's seedy reputation has been earned. I'd like all of us, including the lawyers out there, to take a closer look at why the legal profession is held in such low regard by the general public. Time and time again, we see high profile celebrity types breaking the law left and right and receiving preferential treatment while the less renown get cuffed, stuffed and thrown in the paddy wagon.
Every day we read about one class action suit after another being casually tossed around by jet setting millionaire personal injury lawyers like Frisbees in the park as these ultra-rich class action moguls get even richer from the sky high contingency fees they garner while their clients get coupons for their troubles.
Who isn't sick and tired of hearing about how high paid legal muscle continues to extricate one felon after another over a hodgepodge of technicalities while the public at large gets the shaft?
How much longer can we watch our country’s founders’ love of justice and doing what’s right slide slowly and irrevocably down the slippery slope into an icreasingly laissez faire environment?
Are we going to continue to allow lawyers, representing some of the most reprehensible wretches ever known to mankind, to keep telling us that we shouldn’t judge others and the mistakes they make – even when they break the law?
“Who are we to judge? After all, we all make mistakes,” is the disgraceful refrain we hear from lawyers representing a host of lawbreakers. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of observing people who are doing what’s right and expecting the same behavior from their fellow citizens being treated as out of date relics from a bygone era.
Enough is enough. I’m not just tired of this “down in the gutter” mentality a number of lawyers have foisted upon us and the ensuing mayhem it has wrought on American society. No, it’s more than that. I’m totally bent way out of shape. I want to know where in the hell have the good guy lawyers gone.
Contrary to popular belief, there are still a number of good guys in the legal profession. While it’s always easy to judge a book by its cover, with the general consensus being that all lawyers are crooks and con men, there still are a number of lawyers out there who would love to have their profession viewed in a better light.
There has to be a number of these lawyers who have grown tired of hearing one disparaging lawyer joke after another being bandied about and having their profession viewed as totally corrupt and bereft of any semblance of dignity.
There must be at least a few lawyers who are tired of seeing an endless chain of billboards, television commercials, newspaper and telephone book ads depicting litigation crazed lawyers urging us to sue, sue and sue some more.
Unfortunately, these good guy lawyers are all but obscured by the high profile, loud mouth lawyer types that are front and center each and every day, making a total mockery of the legal profession and all of its practitioners.
So here's my pitch to the good guy lawyers out there who would love to see the legal profession regain at least a smidgen of respectability.
You need to pitch in and help us clean up this blight you call a profession.
Hey, I know this is a risky proposition. Jumping ship and joining ranks with those seeking to smoke out, expose and eliminate the lawyers who routinely abuse the legal system is a perilous path to be sure. There are no doubt a number of occupational hazards you’ll have to deal with should you dare to “cross the line” and take a stand against those tricksters who for too long have brought a black eye to your industry.
Once the word leaks out that you are no longer willing to take a “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” approach to the illicit transgressions of your fellow lawyers, you’ll risk being shunned by these low life louts. But so what? You don’t want to associate with these miscreants anyway, do you? Sitting on the fence or turning a blind eye to the unprincipled, barbaric behavior of the overbearing and pretentious gang masquerading around as lawyers these days isn’t going to cut the mustard.
No, this is a cut and dried proposition. You must decide once and for all whether you are going to be a part of the solution or alternatively, remain a part of the problem. If you refuse to take a chance and take a stand, you’ll continue to be as big a part of the problem as the lowest of the low life lawyers who ceaselessly cast a pall over the legal profession as a whole.
There is no reason for us to beat around the bushes any longer. The clock is ticking, so let’s cut right to the chase. What this country needs is for the silent majority of good lawyers to stand up and make sure their collective voices are heard loud and clear along with the rest of us. We have to unequivocally put the lawyers who play fast and loose with the law on notice that the business as usual corruption that has plagued the legal profession for so long will no longer be tolerated.
But I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for this scenario to play itself out. History has always been our best teacher and it has repeatedly shown us that the few remaining good guys will go cower in a corner or look the other way while the shysters continue to run wild – further degrading the legal profession even more – if that’s really possible at this point.
So to all of you lawyers out there who play fair and square, what's it going to be? You cannot sit on the fence or pretend there's not a problem with America's legal system. Like it or not, it's time to put up -- or shut up.
After all, actions speak a lot louder than words. So once and for all, are you going to be part of the problem and talk a good game ... or part of the solution and make a real difference? As always, here's wishing all of you a lawyer free day! Greg Hickman Your feedback and opinions are always welcome. Feel free to email your comments to greg@power-of-attorneys.com. Part of this month's Lawyers Stink Email Newsletter is an excerpt taken from Wake Up and Smell the Lawyers. If you haven’t read our highly acclaimed book, you’re missing out on a load of information about America’s legal system – and a load of laughs as well. You can also read other excerpts taken from the book by clicking book chapter summaries here or, if you like, you can pick up your copy by clicking BUY BOOK ONLINE. And while you’re at in, why not take a few moments and check out our growing collection of Funny Lawyer Quotes, Jokes and Cartoons? Hopefully you'll take a few minutes and peruse our extensive listing of stupid lawsuits by clicking Stupid Lawsuits and Other Funny Stuff. I'm sure you will agree that these stupid lawsuits could probably be classified in the following categories: the bad, the worse and you've got to be kidding me. You can sign up for our FREE newsletter by clicking subscribe in the box on the left hand side of this page. Please tell your friends, relatives and business associates about our Lawyers Stink E-mail Newsletter. They can subscribe at our web site: http://www.power-of-attorneys.com (of course you can e-mail this newsletter to them!). If you would like to review past issues of our Lawyers Stink E-mail Newsletter, simply click view back issues of our newsletter. Thanks for reading this issue of the Lawyers Stink Email Newsletter and we’ll see you next month. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions about our newsletter.
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