Pleas of frustration: Lawyers questioning, abandoning their profession

Boston Globe ^ | 8/18/2003 | Ralph Ranalli

[rface]

Jean Terranova wasn't the only lawyer in Massachusetts this year feeling deep dissatisfaction with her choice of profession. In fact, she wasn't even the only soon-to-be-ex-lawyer in her class at chef school.

A death penalty appeals specialist from Framingham, Terranova, 38, said she was fed up with increasingly strict laws to limit appeals, inflexible sentencing guidelines, and funding shortages that prevented her from hiring the necessary experts.

[Phaedrus]

Better for one to remain quiet and have people assume that he's an idiot than to open his mouth and remove all doubt.

Lawyers aren't idiots, they're dishonest. I would rather be an idiot.

[KevinB]

Well it certainly appears you got your wish.

[skinkinthegrass]

There are, very simply, entirely too many lawyers in this country.

Back in the early '80, Paul Harvey said, "There were more lawyers in Washington DC Area, than there were in the entire nation on Japan." @ that time 110 million citizens, the size of Kalifornia...

[Phaedrus]

If you are correct, and 2/3s of divorces are initiated by women for the sole reason that they do not love their husbands, then the problem is with our culture, not our legal system.

I am correct in that women initiate 2/3 of the divorces and I believe, I don't know, that a significant portion of those are undertaken for frivolous "reasons". Blaming the culture is a "cop out" that absolves members of the legal profession not one iota for their unethical behavior.

[Phaedrus]

You are clever and without doubt intelligent but snide. Kiss off, counsellor.

[rightofrush]

Our pastor at the Lowman Community Church was admitted to the Idaho Bar, but decided to answer a higher call for service to his fellow man.

For femminist illiterates, the inclusion of woman is implied in the generic "man".

[Mercat]

That's true and I agree that there are a lot of lawyers who are scum. I just think you were painting with too broad a brush.

MER

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

A death penalty appeals specialist from Framingham, Terranova, 38, said she was fed up with increasingly strict laws to limit appeals, inflexible sentencing guidelines, and funding shortages that prevented her from hiring the necessary experts....Terranova, who plans to become a private chef once she wraps up her case involving a death-row inmate in Texas.

They won't let her tie up the courts endlessly appealing for the release of her murderous client until she finds a judge that will let him out because his mommy made him eat his carrots?

My heart bleeds.

[rightofrush]

Worse still are cases of domestic abuse. Battered spouses more than anyone need the help of an attorney.

Compassionate judges and police would be a lot cheaper.

[Bluntpoint]

I practice for close to 15 years.

I had more bad experiences with attorneys than good ones.

To date, I have only one friend who is an attorney and even he shows signs of moral relativism.

[KevinB]

No, I am an attorney practicing business law. I have bent over backwards in nearly twenty years of practice to try to make sure nobody got screwed, almost always at my own financial detriment.

You wouldn't believe the number of people who think that the reason to hire a lawyer is to screw somebody. That's what the clients want. In most cases, it is the client causing the problem. The good lawyers send those clients walking. I can honestly tell you that in twenty years of practice 95% of the lawyers I have encountered have been hard working and honest. The problem is that the media never talks about them.

By the way, I have been through a very nasty divorce. My ex was fired by three attorneys who weren't willing to do what she asked. When she finally found one who would work for her, the attorney spent most of her time trying to force my ex to be reasonable for the sake of all involved rather than trying to screw me. At the end of it all, it was the troll that I married who had caused all the heartache and expense, not anybody's attorney.

Sorry about the insults I have thrown your way, but it is unfair and inaccurate to generalize about any group, whether lawyers, blacks, muslims or members of whatever profession you belong to.

[July 4th]

I've actually thought about the same thing while in law school. It's not that I don't like the law. On the contrary, I find it really interesting. I think, however, that I will find myself much on the same career path as you have. My grades are good, I'm hoping for a nice federal job for a while, and then I'll get out and actually create something rather than just shuffle papers.

But for those who knock law school, realize that it is the best graduate degree you can have if you want to hone your ability to reason and analyze. There are too many schools. I say chop of all except the top 100 or 75, and they'll get the people who are truly serious about learning rather than the ones who just want the degree so they can go take the bar and chase ambluances.

And as for the pure hatred some have on this thread for the legal profession, just wait. When your a$$ is in a sling someday, by all means, defend yourself. Let us know how it goes. Of course, these freepers completely miss the point that most lawyers are NOT trial lawyers.

[KevinB]

Sorry, my post should have been addressed to you.

[MEGoody]

"Nobody cared about justice anymore; it was just about applying rules."

Any more? Victims often did not get justice because some slime ball 'got off' because of the 'rules'.

[Bluntpoint]

You will be there to save us all from your colleagues. While you both keep track of your billable hours.

Thank God we have you!

[KevinB]

You will be there to save us all from your colleagues.

No, he will be there to save you from the IRS, or from an ex-wife who wants to take your kids away from you, or from the guy who files a discrimination suit against you after you fired him for stealing, or from the partner who wants to take your business away from you.

By the way, there's no law that says you have to hire a lawyer. If you want to go it alone, by all means do it.

[Bluntpoint]

I use to be an attorney.

[KevinB]

I used to be an attorney.

In that case, I'm surprised by your post. Certainly there are reasons to conclude that law is not a particulary rewarding career, but I would think as a former attorney you would have concluded that attorneys do play a legitimate role in helping to resolve disputes.

I think a main reason that people dislike attorneys is that their services tend to be necessary only when bad things are happening. For example, I don't mind spending $2,000 on a new computer because afterwards I will be able to enjoy playing with the thing. There is generally no such reward with legal services. Attorneys are usually hired to keep a bad situation from getting worse. Even if the attorney obtains the best possible result, the client tends to end up in worse shape, both financially and psychologically, than when the controversy arose. It's hard to get excited about spending money under those circumstances.

The only time the attorney should be criticized is when he improperly creates the controversy in the first place or prolongs the controversy to generate additional billings. I will admit that happens more than we would like and the legal profession is trying to police it, but there is far more legitimate and honest legal work going on every day than many of the people on this thread realize.

By the way, what was your area of practice?

[Bluntpoint]

I was a solo practioner.

Until there is real tort reform, like loser pays, the law will be perceived as an extortion racket.

Further, the practice of law is as complicated as lawyers have made it.

Lawyers are no better than any other union shop type of grunts.

Law used to be an apprenticeship type of profession. Now it takes 3 years after your undergraduate degree to practice. That 3 years could be boiled down to 1 year if the case method was dropped in law school.

Law school left me unimpressed with the "study" of law.