Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Above The Law--Always a Must Read


The Above The Law Blawg is a must read.  Provocative, hilarious, well-written, and a commentariat worth chuckling over.   One of their continuing items is the "lawsuit of the day/week,"  which features such items (I beat them to this oddity) as the following:  woman sues over headaches allegedly caused by shampoo bottle falling on her damn head.
see:  http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20091116/NEWS01/91116012/1079/

According to the lawsuit Mary Jones was at La' James International College, when a large shampoo bottle was dropped on her head causing her injuries:  to wit, two years of headaches.  Unfortunately, the Des Moines Register article leaves more questions than answers.  I confess that as I go through my day I will suffer intrusive thoughts of poor Mary and falling objects of all sorts that might harm her or others.

Seriously, though haven't personal injury attorneys done enough to undermine respect for the law?  Can you say McDonald's Hot Coffee?  Let me be clear, I fully confess to having played my part in this game.  I've represented some real doozy(s).

I promise, we will continue to explore the absurdities of a legal career built on the pursuit of the ambulance and the suffering of others, pro and con.  Yeah, I concede there are positives, whether the positives balance the insult to our intelligence remains to be seen.  What a noble profession the law is!

5 comments:

  1. I just found your blog--it's a fascinating look into a world most of us know only from TV shows (ie, not at all). You seem like a pretty ethical person, so I'm assuming the title of your blog is ironic--which is to say, being an ethical person makes you a "bad lawyer." On the other hand, this could just be atonement...in any case, I enjoy reading it.

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  2. Thank you Gayle for following, the Bad Lawyer Blawg--I am grateful for an audience. Yes, I am a Bad Lawyer--objectively so, according to the disciplinary authorities here in Our State (please see the archive for my tales of woe), on the other hand, I have a conscience, a social conscience, a desire to talk about the law from the street-level perspective, and twenty-eight years of war stories, oh, and fleeting moments of wit (or so I'm told.) Please feel free to participate, agree, disagree, ask questions or insult me. BL

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  3. Dear Bad Lawyer,

    I have read your tales of woe and marvel that the legal profession makes my own former occupation--academics--look Edenic by comparison. And here I thought all the Evel Basterds were teaching Dryden and Chaucer and wrecking the careers of those who threatened their little duchies. My goodness. Still, I commend your thoughtful, if occasionally vengeful, commentary. We are of an age, and similarly cast out of our respective gardens (or snakepits)--I think this naturally leads one to introspection. And blog-writing. Should you seek a vacation from your contemplation of nefarious lawyerly doings, and have a yen to read some iambic pentameter, do visit my blog. After I finish Romeo and Juliet, which I am much to old to read, much less write about, I will be reading The Merchant of Venice, a story about bad debt, mean usurious lenders, and a good fake lawyer. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy your witty take on the dangerous slippage between justice and the law.
    Gayle Italianname

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  4. Gayle, I love the Bard, particularly the Merchant! And as you might suspect I harbor some affection for that poor lost soul, Shylock. It is my lot in life to see a spark of something human in the complete dolts in my universe, even on good days the dolt in my mirror.

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  5. The dolt in your mirror is only a reflection... and I can attest that there are far more dolts in your life!!!

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