Not renting to lawyers

by Walter Olson on May 16, 2007

Professor Bainbridge has some thoughts on a policy apparently pursued by some landlords (at least when the law permits them to do so) (May 15).

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{ 5 comments }

1 Justinian Lane 05.16.07 at 11:08 pm

Wow. Lawyers really are hated, aren’t they? I wonder if the same prejudice applies to district attorneys or transactional attorneys.

2 Walter Olson 05.19.07 at 9:08 am

I wouldn’t assume that these policies necessarily signify that lawyers are “hated”. Lawyers may simply be perceived as more likely to take an adversarial stance when frictions come up in the landlord-tenant relationship, or more skilled at using legal process in a way damaging to the landlord’s interests when a dispute does arise. This practical set of expectations may be enough to explain such a policy without positing any special or further animus toward lawyers as a class — indeed, the landlord who chooses among tenants on this basis might well be a lawyer himself or herself.

3 Yoda 05.19.07 at 11:02 am

OR…

it could be because of the well-deserved reputation of abusing the legal system for frivolous or malicious means.

I’ve yet to encounter a lawyer in a professional setting who didn’t fit this description, or made reference to it on several occasions.

4 Dave Lincoln 05.20.07 at 5:51 pm

Re post #2:

No, believe me, lawyers are hated.

5 Surpemacy Claus 05.21.07 at 8:51 am

Walter is pointing out the existence of a new type of discrimination.

A statute may remedy that wrong, the Americans with Too Much Abilities Act.

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