[yldstrk]

We have wide open competition in the legal profession. And I would like to point out that lawyers have assisted in policing the abuses of the governments lately.

[DCBryan1]

We can kill the profession (or at least make it more professional) by tort reform. LOSER PAYS ALL COSTS INCURRED OR GOES TO JAIL AND LOSES LICENSE!

[ontap]

Who cares what Shakespeare thought or didn’t think....It’s still a good idea!!! For most of them!!!

[Red Badger]

Lawyers are a necessary evil, kinda like cold viruses. You have to have one every few years to keep your immune/legal system functioning.................

[cloudmountain]

There would be no use for lawyers if folks could settle their own differences. They can't, however, so folks turn to a mouthpiece.
Lawyers fill a need for a-holes and try to arbitrate differences. It's ALL about the seven deadly sins.

People USED to settle their own differences: shoot, burn, poison, kill, rape, lie, cheat and loot. There are SO many ways to kill, maim, injure and "get even."

[mac_truck]

lawyers are parasites

[BenLurkin]

Tell you what. That line:

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

Brought down the house.

[Bratch]

Shakespeare Didn't Really Want To Kill All The Lawyers...

Nobody's perfect.

[metesky]

Everybodys lawyer sucks, except mine.

OK, him too.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The biggest reform to the legal profession should be a severe crackdown on “barratry”.

In common (not naval) law, barratry is the offense committed by people who are “overly officious in instigating or encouraging prosecution of groundless litigation” or who bring “repeated or persistent acts of litigation” for the purposes of profit or harassment.

If litigation is for the purpose of silencing critics, it is known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), which is an offense. 28 states have enacted SLAPP laws, but there is no federal statute.

In the U.S. states of California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, barratry is a misdemeanor. In Texas, however, barratry is a misdemeanor on the first conviction, but a felony on subsequent convictions.

Though very rare in the law, courts on their own may determine “Vexatious litigation”, which means filing endless harassment lawsuits against some individual or group, or just in general with great frequency, abusing the court system. In such circumstances, judges may bar the responsible individual from filing lawsuits in the future.

In any event, a national crackdown on barratry would be a great first step in civil law reform, followed by limits on contingency fee attorneys, along with settlement limitations and punitive damages decisions.

[Alter Kaker]

This guy would have a point... if there were a shortage of lawyers in any state’s bar. But there aren’t. There are more licensed bar-passing lawyers in the world than there are sewer rats. I would contrast this to the medical profession where there actually is a shortage of doctors in many fields. We can argue the pros and cons of that, but it’s hard to argue with a straight face that there’s a shortage of lawyers. In fact, I know dozens of lawyers who don’t practice law because there are simply more lawyers than there are jobs for lawyers.

[Pajamajan]

Bookmark

[Scoutmaster]

I've read excellent arguments by Shakespeare scholars that the phrase means what it says. Those scholars argue that, given the context and the fact that Dick the Butcher uttered the line, Shakespeare intended the phrase to be a portrayal of corrupt lawyers and the laws they pervert as the true enemies to sound government, justice, and freedom.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Or maybe it's just the lawyer in me speaking.