Get over it, Carr tells jobless lawyers

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | 12/7/2003 | Alex Mitchell

[ccmay]

Premier Bob Carr has a blunt message for the hundreds of Sydney lawyers out of work because of his Government's law reforms: "Get retrained and start another job."

He was unmoved by the report that the entire 14th floor of Wardell Chambers in Martin Place, employing 23 barristers and support staff, will close its doors on December 31.

Offering no apology for the jobs shake-out in law practices following his legislative assault on "the culture of litigation", Mr Carr said: "The fact is there will be fewer jobs for lawyers, but with their education they are well placed to go into retraining.

"In this modern day and age a lot of workers have had to be retrained.

"Lawyers are not a protected species, and their habits of over-litigation were adding to the cost of doing business in NSW.

"We couldn't have allowed it to go on."

Mr Carr claimed that while excessive litigation had lined the pockets of lawyers, it had resulted in the closure of community events, the wrecking of the workers' compensation system and could have put thousands of people out of work.

Over the past 18 months the Carr Government has introduced a series of major reforms on public liability to reduce the financial impact on insurance companies and to slow down the escalating rate of premiums.

The Civil Liability (Personal Responsibility) Act and its amendments introduced caps and thresholds on compensation and shifted the balance towards greater personal responsibility to avoid long and expensive court cases.

The result has been a sharp drop in casework for solicitors and barristers specialising in personal injury cases.

"We reformed it," Mr Carr said. "But I make no apologies for cleaning up this culture of over-litigation, of reining it in.

"Everyone was suing everyone and trying to get a pot of money at the end of the rainbow.

"And it was just bankrupting Australia, so we cleaned it up.

"Now workers are getting more out of the workers' comp system and they are going to continue to get more," he said. "But it does mean less going to lawyers. I know where I prefer it to go."

NSW Bar Association president Ian Harrison, SC, said last week that a quarter to a third of all barristers would disappear or have their practices adversely affected within the next six to 18 months.

The Wardell Chambers floor closure is linked directly to the winding up of the NSW Workers Compensation Court this month and restrictions on injury claims under the Government's reforms.

NSW Law Society president Robert Benjamin said 30 to 40 per cent of the state's 18,000 solicitors were involved in personal injury and compensation work and would be hit by the Carr Government's law changes.

[ccmay]

Praise God, somebody somewhere has finally had the balls to take on the pirates of the plaintiff's bar. Can't we do the same here? I'd like to see 90 percent of them jobless. I don't care if they have to scrounge in dumpsters to feed their families. I want them CRUSHED. I want them RUINED. I want them DESTROYED.

-ccm

[Dunedain]

Cry me a friggin river ... lawyers ...

[EggsAckley]

Sounds like Mr. Carr is up on his Shakespeare. LOL!

[#3Fan]

Heck yeah, the world needs more ditch-diggers, not lawyers. :^)

[caisson71]

This is bad news..LOL...really bad news.

[WFTR]

I think the American economy will be much better when lawyers, bureaucrats, and TV personalities face the prospect of their jobs being reduced and then outsourced to India. That's the change we need. We don't need further loss of honest jobs for everyday Americans.

WFTR
Bill

[jrushing]

Offering no apology for the jobs shake-out in law practices following his legislative assault on "the culture of litigation", Mr Carr said: "The fact is there will be fewer jobs for lawyers, but with their education they are well placed to go into retraining.

Oh God!, don't we need that man in America? What a wonderful thing. I hope it catches on & spreads throught the world!

[thinktwice]

Halleluia -- From the land down under -- A burst of hope for common sense on earth.

[Map Kernow]

Offering no apology for the jobs shake-out in law practices following his legislative assault on "the culture of litigation", Mr Carr said: "The fact is there will be fewer jobs for lawyers, but with their education they are well placed to go into retraining.

I've been paracticing law for nearly a quarter century. I don't hesitate in the least in writing my opinion that the legal profession very badly needs to be reined in, from the plaintiff bar to corporate counsel to the "public defender" (HA!!!) to government counsel to the bench. And laypeople are going to have to do it, because I can tell you as an insider that members of this unprincipled profession are never going to do it themselves.

[SF Republican]

Praise the lord indeed; come on over Mr.Carr we need a new labor secretary.

[DLfromthedesert]

Let's import Mr. Carr.

[NYer]

The Civil Liability (Personal Responsibility) Act and its amendments introduced caps and thresholds on compensation and shifted the balance towards greater personal responsibility to avoid long and expensive court cases.

Thanks for posting this thread!!! Perhaps it will inspire some US politicians to follow suit. Litigation in this country is tantamount to winning the lottery.

I read somewhere that excessive litigation was one of the factors that lead to the collapse of Ancient Greece.

[FormerACLUmember]

I've been paracticing law for nearly a quarter century. I don't hesitate in the least in writing my opinion that the legal profession very badly needs to be reined in, from the plaintiff bar to corporate counsel to the "public defender" (HA!!!) to government counsel to the bench. And laypeople are going to have to do it, because I can tell you as an insider that members of this unprincipled profession are never going to do it themselves.

The most honest statement I have ever heard from a true member of the bar. My congratualtions to you.

[DannyTN]

OK, what do we need as part of a DeLawyerification plan? For a start how about...

• Reduce regulation and laws
• Automate Driving - Would put many injury lawyers and insurance out of business.
• Enact Tort Reform.
• Enact Loser pays to stop frivolous lawsuits.

[tlrugit]

The revolution has begun! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

[jimtorr]

I read somewhere that excessive litigation was one of the factors that lead to the collapse of Ancient Greece.

I don't know about Greece, but it certainly was a serious problem in Rome. The threat of constant litigation was an important reason why Julius Ceaser marched on Rome.

[PsyOp]

I live for the day when I see a bum on street corner dressed in dirty, torn Armani suit, with a duct-taped briefcase, holding a sign that says, "will litigate for food."

[Ben Chad]

Why can't lawyers go to the beach?

Because cats bury them with sand. LOL

[ccmay]

Isn't that cute? Look at the keywords some lawyer scumbag attached to the comments:

DONTNEEDNOSTINKINLAW; DONTSUESHOOT; GETREVENGEOUTOFCOURT; HURTTOOBAD; INVITESSELFHELP; NODAYINCOURT; NOJUSTICE; PROTECTTHECORRUPT; SCREWTHEINJURED; SHOOTDONTSUE

Come out wherever you are, and defend the indefensible. I say you are all pirates and trouble-making dirt bags.

-ccm

[cynicom]

I thot maybe they had hung all those lawyers. Well, half a loaf is better than none.