Gene Healy on discovering the topic of family law: “Here was an interesting area of law; and by interesting, I mean insane. … what really woke me up was the concept of ‘imputed income’ for alimony and child support. That means, not your actual income, but what you could make if you were really giving it your all and living up to your potential.” Thus in a Virginia case, a divorced man subject to heavy support obligations knowingly switched to a lower-pressure, lower-paying job. “Tough, said the judge. You’re liable for what you could make, not what you actually make. And that’s the law. Guys, if you want that wonderful pulse-racing, chest-tightening feeling you get from the kind of bad dreams where you show up late for an exam you didn’t know you were scheduled for — then click this link to a California divorce lawyer’s page.” (“The Marriage Strike”, AFF Brainwash, Aug. 31)(& letter to the editor, Sept. 18).
Posts Tagged ‘divorce’
Lawyers’ advertising and solicitation generally
The following links and commentaries were written circa 1999 for Overlawyered.com.
Chapter 1 of your editor’s The Litigation Explosion (1991), unfortunately not online, tells the story of how in the 1970s the mood in elite legal circles changed: client-chasing by lawyers, long considered a serious ethical breach, began to be viewed less unfavorably as litigation itself came to be seen as socially positive rather than destructive. The shift culminated in decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court according Constitutional protection to most lawyer advertising and some solicitation.
Solicitation: some extreme cases
Among cases mentioned in The Litigation Explosion are those where lawyers’ agents posed as a priest to mingle among grieving families after an air crash, and as Red Cross workers to dig out and sign up survivors after a store collapse. (Even in today’s much-relaxed climate, these sorts of practices still expose attorneys to punishment if they can be proved.) Ken Dornstein’s book Accidentally on Purpose reports on how personal injury operators set up a supposed religious charity, the “Friends of the Friendless”, whose real function was to secure them access to patients in the giant Los Angeles County Medical Center; “techniques included pressing an unconscious patient’s inked thumb to a legal retainer and threatening those who said no with deportation”.
This September 1998 Cincinnati Enquirer article reports on a case where a lawyer was accused of soliciting a dead man.
Lawyer promotion on the Web:
Client-chasing lawyers pioneered spam in the notorious 1994 “green card lawyers” episode, in which an Arizona law firm posted an ad to several thousand Usenet newsgroups offering immigration services; the fury among Netizens went on for months. This account is by David Loundy in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
Two articles still worth a look, though written at a time when web technology was in its infancy, are “Pushing the Advertising Envelope” by T.K. Reid (State Bar of Georgia) and Mark Hankins, “Ambulance Chasers on the Internet: Regulation of Attorney Web Pages” from the Spring 1996 Journal of Technology Law and Policy (U. of Fla. Law School). Hankins writes that “the Web is unfortunately already home to undignified attorney advertising, including a DUI attorney who sponsors a ‘drunk browsing test’ inviting users to perform the tongue-in-cheek computer equivalent of a roadside sobriety test”. (That link is gone, however.) Reid reported, “In an informal poll I did of ten attorneys owning sites on the Web, I inquired as to what steps they had taken to insure that their page complied with their State Bar’s rules for advertising. To my great surprise several responded that they did not consider their sites to constitute advertising, and therefore had done nothing. Instead of advertising their services as an attorney, they maintained that they were acting in another role – that of a publisher of free information.”
Which brings us to “Ethics Spotlight: Attorney Malpractice for Web Site Content” by Laura W. Morgan, part of the Divorce.Net site. Morgan looks at the question whether lawyers might be liable for offering bad advice on their websites which visitors rely on to their detriment. The general answer is no, because law-firm websites are usually well plastered with disclaimers saying, “this isn’t real advice and don’t even think of relying on it”. Fair enough, except that the same lawyers often aren’t so willing to respect other people’s attempts to disclaim liability.
Archived Canadian items, pre-July 2003
“‘Father files suit after son fails to make MVP award’” (hockey, New Brunswick), Nov. 8-10, 2002.
“‘Sorry, Slimbo, you’re in my seats’“, June 7, 2001 (& updates Dec. 15-16, 2001, Oct. 25-27, 2002); “Obese fliers“, Dec. 20, 2000; “Welcome Toronto Star readers” (Jason Brooks column, disabled rights), Sept. 27-28, 2000.
Personal responsibility, 2002: “Skating first, instructions later” (Edmonton), Sept. 25-26; “‘Woman freezes; sues city, cabbie’” (Winnipeg), Sept. 18-19; Personal responsibility roundup” (social host alcohol liability), Sept. 12; “Paroled prisoner: pay for not supervising me“, Jan. 4-6. 2001: “Don’t rock the Coke machine“, July 20-22; “‘Gambling addiction’ class action” (Loto-Quebec), June 20 (& update May 20-21, 2002; “‘Woman who drove drunk gets $300,000’” (Barrie, Ont.), Feb. 7-8; “By reader acclaim” (sues alleged crack dealers over own addiction), Jan. 11. 2000: “Not my fault, I” (woman who murdered daughter sues psychiatrists), May 17; “Blue-ribbon excuse syndromes” (Metis Indian defendant allowed to cite cultural oppression as defense to stabbing charge), Feb. 12-13.
“Cash demanded for drug users and panhandlers inconvenienced by film crews” (Vancouver), Aug. 23-25, 2002.
“Activist judges north of the border“, May 31-Jun. 2, 2002 (& letter to the editor, Jun. 14).
“Flowers, perfume in airline cabins not OK?“, May 17-19, 2002; “Scented hair gel, deodorant could mean jail time for Canadian youth“, Apr. 24, 2000.
“‘Unharmed woman awarded $104,000’” (Manitoba chemical exposure), May 6, 2002.
“‘Targeting “big food”‘” (Lemieux, National Post), Apr. 29-30, 2002.
“Pharmaceutical roundup” (silicone implants popular), Apr. 16-17, 2002.
“Web speech roundup” (flag logo on website), Mar. 25-26, 2002.
“Tribulations of the light prison sleeper“, Mar. 25-26, 2002; “Prison litigation: ‘Kittens and Rainbows Suites’” (cellmate’s smoking violates rights), Jan. 11-13; “Paroled prisoner: pay for not supervising me“, Jan. 4-6, 2002.
“Couldn’t order 7-Up in French” (suing Air Canada for $525,000), Mar. 18, 2002; “Gotta regulate ’em all” (Quebec official upset that Pok?n cards not in French), Dec. 16, 1999.
“Stop, they said” (Manitoba: stop sign too vague?), Feb. 4-5, 2002.
“Planners tie up land for twenty years” (plus B.C. land use story), Jan. 18-20, 2002.
Family law, 2002: “‘Avoiding court is best defence’” (Dave Brown), Jan. 14-15. 2001: “‘Crying wolf’” (Christie Blatchford on sexual abuse charges), Oct. 30; “Why she’s quitting law practice” (Karen Selick), Aug. 13-14; “Canadian court: divorce settlements never final“, May 15; “‘Victim is sued for support’“, Feb. 9-11; “Solomon’s child” (Donna LaFramboise), Jan. 26-28. 2000: “Pilloried, broke, alone” (LaFramboise on “deadbeat dads”), April 10. 1999: “Down repressed-memory lane: distracted when she signed” (Ont. judge voids separation agreement), Dec. 29-30.
“Front-row spectator sues ‘reckless’ exotic dancer” (B.C.), Jan. 7-8, 2002; “Embarrassing Lawsuit Hall of Fame” (injured by exotic dancer in Ottawa), Aug. 14, 2000; “‘Toronto Torch’ age-bias suit” (stripper in Brantford), May 23, 2000.
“Overlawyered schools roundup” (challenge to Ontario standards), Dec. 7-9, 2001.
“Columnist-fest” (asylum policies), Nov. 27, 2001; “Opponents of profiling, still in the driver’s seat” (Air Canada), Nov. 2-4; “Security holes: to the North…” (anti-terrorism security), Sept. 14-16, 2001.
“‘Hate speech’ law invoked against anti-American diatribe“, Oct. 17-18, 2001; “Most unsettling thing we’ve heard about Canada in a while” (hate speech laws), Dec. 17-19, 1999.
“‘Hama to sue bridge owners over her daughter’s fall’” (Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver), Oct. 8, 2001.
“Fear of losing welfare benefits deemed coercive” (N.S.), Oct. 3-4, 2001.
Zero tolerance, etc.: “John Leo on Overlawyered.com” (Halifax: snowball-like gestures banned), Aug. 15, 2001; “Fateful fiction” (Cornwall, Ont.), Jan. 30, 2001; “Hug protest in Halifax” (school’s no-physical-contact policy), March 2, 2000; “Zero tolerance roundup” (Windsor: 11-year-old’s fictional school essay), Dec. 27-28, 1999.
“Why she’s quitting law practice” (Karen Selick), Aug. 13-14, 2001.
“Welcome Bourque.org readers“, June 26, 2001.
“‘Dead teen’s family sues Take Our Kids To Work’“, May 31, 2001.
“Holiday special” (misconduct by N.B. lawyer), May 28, 2001.
“‘Insect lawyer ad creates buzz’” (Torys, Toronto), May 23, 2001; “‘Not-a-Lawyer’” (Vancouverite’s business card), Feb. 10-11, 2000.
“Columnist-fest” (Mark Steyn on Indian residential schools), May 1, 2001; “Bankrupting Canadian churches?“, Aug. 23-24, 2000.
“Canada’s secret legal aid“, April 10, 2001.
“Putting the ‘special’ in special sauce” (alleged rat in Big Mac”, March 29, 2001.
“Saves her friend’s life, then sues her“, Jan. 3, 2001.
“Canada reins in expert witnesses“, Nov. 22-23, 2000.
“Malpractice outlays on rise in Canada“, Oct. 2, 2000.
“‘Mother sues over lack of ice time for goalie son’” (Quebec), Sept. 11, 2000.
“‘Mugging victim “stupid”, judge says’” (Winnipeg case), Aug. 2, 2000.
“‘Skydivers don’t sue’“, May 26, 2000 (update July 6: Canadian diver prevails in suit against teammate).
“Cash for trash, and worse” (“Vancouver solution” for Microsoft?), June 26, 2000.
“Welcome Montreal Gazette readers” (columnist Doug Camilli cites this website), June 7, 2000; “Trop d’avocats.com” (we are recommended by the Gazette), Oct. 18, 1999.
“‘More lawyers than we really need?’” (aftermath of Walkerton, Ont. E. Coli outbreak: columnist cites this website), June 2-4, 2000.
“Less suing = less suffering” (Sasketchewan no-fault auto study), April 24, 2000 (& update June 26).
“Swissair crash aftermath” (Peggy’s Cove disaster in U.S. courts), March 14, 2000; “Montreal Gazette ‘Lawsuit of the Year’” (bagpipers sue Swissair for lost income), Jan. 17, 2000.
“‘Girl puts head under guillotine; sues when hurt’“, March 8, 2000.
“Ontario judge okays hockey-fan lawsuit“, Jan. 12, 2000; “Spreading to Canada?” (hockey fan sues Alexei Yashin), Oct. 20, 1999.
“Update: toilet of terror” (Canadian tourist visits Starbucks in NYC, sues), Dec. 8, 1999; “Starbucks toilet lawsuit“, Dec. 1, 1999.
“Mounties vs. your dish” (satellite regulations), Nov. 1, 1999.
“Sensitivity in cow-naming“, Oct. 21, 1999; “Weekend reading” (Bugs Bunny television complaint), Aug. 21-22, 1999. “You may already not be a winner” (prisoner suit over sweepstakes entry), Aug. 23, 1999.
For a discussion of the loser-pays principle, which Canada has retained to a considerable extent in its courts, see our loser-pays page
Archived family law items, pre-July 2003
[probate and estate law cases]
“Decorating for reconciliation“, May 29, 2003.
“Pet custody as legal practice area“, Feb. 17, 2003; “Officious intermeddlers, pet division” (lawyers intervene on behalf of couple’s cats and dogs), May 14-15, 2002.
Custody and visitation, 2003: “‘The Politics of Family Destruction’” (Stephen Baskerville), Jan. 7-8. 2002: “Rethinking grandparent visitation“, Oct. 21; “‘Avoiding court is best defence’“, Jan. 14-15. 2001: “Columnist-fest” (John Tierney), May 25-27; “Solomon’s child“, Jan. 26-28. 1999: “Spreading to Australia?” (smoking and child custody), Dec. 29-30; “Chicago’s $4 million kid” (custody battle royal), Sept. 17-19.
Child support, 2003: “‘The Politics of Family Destruction’” (bans on fathering more children), Jan. 7-8 (& Nov. 28, 2001). 2001: “Wrong guy? Doesn’t seem to matter“, Aug. 7-8; “‘Judge orders parents to support 50-year-old son’“, Aug. 7-8. 2000: “State errors unfairly cast some dads as deadbeats“, Sept. 8-10; “Not child’s father, must pay anyway” (plus: “throwaway dads”), May 22; “Pilloried, broke, alone” (Donna LaFramboise on “deadbeat dads”), Apr. 10. 1999: “Beating up on ‘deadbeat dads’“, Aug. 23.
“Lawyers fret about bad image“, Oct. 3, 2002.
“Hizzoner’s divorce, settled at last“, Jul. 16-17, 2002.
“Lawyer’s 44-hour workday” (social service agency, uncontested adoptions), Jun. 28-30, 2002.
“Anti-circumcision suit advances“, Aug. 19, 2002; “By reader acclaim: suing over circumcision“, Feb. 28-March 1, 2001; “Folk medicine meets child abuse reporting” (“coining” of skin), May 31-Jun. 2, 2002.
Restraining orders: “‘The Politics of Family Destruction’“, Jan. 7-8, 2003; “A menace in principle“, Mar. 4, 2002; “Fateful carpool“, Aug. 23-24, 2000; “Stay away, I’ve got a court order“, Aug. 11-13; “Recommended reading” (Dan Lynch in Albany Times-Union), Jan. 25, 2000; “Hitting below the belt“, Oct. 26, 1999; “Injunctive injustice“, Oct. 14; “Weekend reading” (“Why is Daddy in jail?…For the crime of wanting to see his child”), Sept. 25-26, 1999; “Hitting below the belt” (Cathy Young, Salon).
“Mom wants to be sued” (for negligent injury to fetus), Jan. 4-6, 2002.
“‘Wrongful life’ comes to France“, Dec. 11, 2001; “Meet the ‘wrongful-birth’ bar“, Aug. 22-23 (& letter to the editor, Sept. 3; more on wrongful birth/life: Jan. 9-10, May 20-21, Jul. 1-2, 2002; Nov. 22-23, Sept. 8-10, June 8, May 9, Jan. 8-9, 2000).
“Women’s rights: British law, or Islamic?“, Nov. 13, 2001.
“Rush to reconcile“, Sept. 27, 2001.
“Why she’s quitting law practice” (Canadian lawyer Karen Selick), Aug. 13-14, 2001.
“Canadian court: divorce settlements never final“, May 15, 2001; “Down repressed-memory lane II: distracted when she signed” (separation agreement), Dec. 29-30, 1999.
“‘Halt cohabiting or no bail, judge tells defendants’” (1805 N.C. law), May 8, 2001; “Dusting ’em off” (old laws against “alienation of affection”, cohabitation), May 18-21, 2000.
“‘State running background checks on new parents’” (Michigan), Apr. 3-4, 2001; “Expanding definitions of child abuse“, Feb. 16-19, 2001; “Battered? Hand over your kids“, July 13, 2000.
“‘Victim is sued for support’” (Canada: husband shot by wife may have to pay her), Feb. 9-11, 2001; “Pay us for this service” (husband dunned for cost of defending wife charged with murdering their kids), Dec. 22, 1999.
“Do as the Douglases do” (pre-nuptial agreements), Jan. 10, 2001.
“Behind the subway ads” (1-800-DIVORCE, etc.), Dec. 18-19, 2000; “State of legal ethics” (ad for will-contest litigation), Oct. 5-6; “Honey, you’ve got mail” (solicitations from divorce lawyers arrive before unsuspecting spouses know they’re being divorced), July 15, 1999.
“Family law roundup” (English couple’s divorce costs ?840,000; frequent flier miles argued over; charges of clubby Marin County, Calif. courts), Nov. 7, 2000.
“Dangerous divorce opponents” (when spouse is lawyer), Sept. 21, 2000.
“The asset hider“, May 16, 2000; “No, honey, nothing special happened today” (woman seeking divorce fails to tell husband she just won California lottery), Nov. 20-21, 1999.
“Columnist-fest: liberal aims, illiberal means” (Stuart Taylor on same-sex marriage, William Raspberry on grandparents’ rights), Feb. 24, 2000.
“Scorched-earth divorce tactics? Pay up” (Massachusetts decisions adopt loser-pays as sanction), Jan. 31, 2000.
“Dear Abby: Please help…” (sue married man for breach of promise to follow through on divorce?), Jan. 11, 2000.
“Christmas lawyer humor” (Richard Crouch, “Joys of the season for divorce lawyers”), Dec. 23-26, 1999.
“Splitsville, N.Y.” (New York magazine cover story), Dec. 17-18, 1999.
“Weekend reading” (some celebrities tuck nondisclosure contracts into the envelope with wedding invitations), Aug. 7-8, 1999.
Articles by Overlawyered.com editor Walter Olson:
“Free To Commit” (Louisiana covenant marriage law), Reason, October 1997.
“At Law: Divorce Court New York Style“, City Journal, Spring 1993.
“Kidlib and Mrs. Clinton: The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” (children’s rights), National Review, May 11, 1992.
“Suing Ourselves to Death“, (vagueness of custody standards; excerpt, The Litigation Explosion), Washington Post, April 28, 1991.
Countless websites deal with divorce, custody and other family-law topics. A great many of these are put up by persons outraged at what they’ve gone through in their own experiences in court. Among sites with a reformist focus, many align themselves with one or another camp among family roles: thus there are sites that focus on husbands’ legal woes and those that focus on wives’; sites for custodial and for non-custodial parents, for birth parents, for adoptive parents and for adoptees; and so forth. Yet dissatisfaction with the legal system’s handling of family breakup, and outrage at exorbitant costs, tactical gamesmanship, judges with too much arbitrary power, unreliable expert opinion, and outright perjury and invention, are themes that weave through sites from all sides. Indeed, one lesson from comparing a variety of sites is that innocent parties of every sex, age and condition are victimized by legal hardball — and that the process produces many more losers than winners.
Books of interest:
Karen Winner, “Divorced from Justice : The Abuse of Women and Children by Divorce Lawyers and Judges”
Cathy Young, “Ceasefire! Why Women and Men Must Join Forces to Achieve True Equality“.
Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters, “Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria”
Margaret Hagen, “Whores of the Court: The Fraud of Psychiatric Testimony and the Rape of American Justice” (currently unavailable)
Archived legal ethics items, pre-July 2003
Bar discipline and client protection, 2003: “Probate’s misplaced trust” (Washington Post series), Jun. 16-17. 2002: “Crumbs from the table“, Feb. 8-10. 2001: “Law firm sued over fen-phen settlement practices“, Dec. 28; “Updates” (IOLTA), Dec. 15-16 (& Jan. 31); “Holiday special” (Canadian lawyer’s misconduct), May 28; “Mills of legal discipline” (updates on Brock, Hager, Fieger cases), Mar. 3; “Dangers of complaining about lawyers” (Ga. considers easing defamation counter-complaints by lawyers), Mar. 30-Apr. 1. 2000: “‘Judge Lenient With Perjurer, Cites Clinton Case’“, Oct. 16-17 (& May 16); “Disbarred, with an asterisk” (Mass. has let many attorneys resume practice), Sept. 20; “Funds that don’t protect” (client protection funds), Aug. 23-24; “Fit to practice?” (California bar disciplinary board), Aug. 21-22; “That Hager case” (American U. law professor Mark Hager, settlement of Warner-Lambert Nix lice treatment case), Feb. 23 (& update May 3, 2001: board recommends three-year suspension).
“New legal ethics weblog” (ethicalEsq.?), Jun. 6-8, 2003.
Judicial conduct, 2003: “Year’s most injudicious judges” (NLJ roundup), May 6. 2002: “‘Federal authorities say judge offered illegal payoff’“, Sept. 3-4; “‘Privileged chambers’” (Albany Times-Union series), May 30; “‘Injudicious conduct’” (NLJ roundup), May 1-2; “La. officials seek oyster judge recusal“, Mar. 25-26; “So depressed he stole $300K“, Mar. 19. 2001: “‘Pseudologica fantastica’ won’t fly” (judge’s resum?ibs), June 7 (& update Aug. 20-21); “‘Judges behaving badly’” (NLJ roundup), May 11-13. 2000: “Year’s most injudicious judges“, Jun. 5, 2000; “Brockovich story, cont’d: the judges’ cruise“, Apr. 18; “New Hampshire high court blowup“, Apr. 5 (& updates Oct. 11: chief justice acquitted at impeachment; May 3, 2001); “The costs of disclosure” (Washington state, Grant Anderson case), Jan. 19.
“Class action lawyer takes $20 million from defendant’s side“, Mar. 15-16, 2003.
“Politico’s law associate suspended over ‘runner’ use” (Louisiana), Feb. 14-16, 2003.
Civility: “Law’s attraction for the bully“, Dec. 13-15, 2002; “‘Attorney Ordered To Pay Fees for “Rambo” Tactics’“, Oct. 5-7, 2001; “Mills of legal discipline” (Geoffrey Fieger tirade against judges), May 3, 2001 (& more on Fieger: Apr. 23-24, 2002, Sept. 14, 1999; “Another Mr. Civility nominee” (“dreck”, “scum”), June 2-4, 2000; “From the incivility frontier” (“gag a maggot off a meat wagon”, “proctology exam”), April 19; “Majesty of the law” (alleged threat to kill opposing counsel), March 13, 2000 (& update May 17: attorney sanctioned); “Bright future in some areas of practice” (“abusive, hostile” applicant for law license), Oct. 13, 1999 (update, Nov. 23).
“Race-bias cases gone wrong“, Jan. 24-26, 2003.
“Lawyers fret about bad image” (Fla. bar plans to rate and monitor tone of journalists’ coverage), Oct. 3, 2002.
“FTC cracks down on excessive legal fees“, Oct. 1-2, 2002.
“Second Circuit: we mean business about stopping frivolous securities suits” (scope of Rule 11), Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2002.
“Lawyer’s 44-hour workday“, Jun. 28-30, 2002; “Charged $16,000 for brief he copied from book“, May 17-19, 2002; “Lending rules trip up litigation-finance firms“, Dec. 3, 2001; Letter to the editor (incremental billing disclosed?), Oct. 22, 2001; “Law-firm bill-padding? Say it isn’t so!“, Nov. 18, 1999.
“‘Student gets diploma after threatening lawsuit’“, Jun. 13, 2002.
Truth value, 2002: “Lying’s not nice, especially when representing the bar“, Jul. 30-31; “Columbia Law School survey on public attitude toward lawyers“, Apr. 26-28; “‘Ex-student sentenced for rape lie’” (wants to become attorney), Jan. 11-13 (& see May 26-29, 2000: Stephen Glass graduates Georgetown Law). 2001: Criminal defense attorneys, doing what they do best“, Dec. 15-16; “‘Lawyers pay price for cruel hoaxes’” (phony heir claims after plane crashes), Aug. 3-5; “‘Lie-tery winners’“, April 20-22. 2000: “What was the Florida court thinking?” (Boies-submitted affidavit), Dec. 11-12; “‘Judge Lenient With Perjurer, Cites Clinton Case’“, Oct. 16-17 (& May 16); “The judge wasn’t asleep” (sanctions for submission of dubious affidavits), June 14-15. 1999: “If true, then all the better” (excerpt from Campos, Jurismania), Dec. 3-5; and see witness coaching, below.
“‘”Little” done for firm, Rendell says’” (law firms provide no-show jobs for politicians), May 9, 2002.
“‘Former clients sue attorney O’Quinn’” (Kennedy Heights case), Apr. 8-9, 2002 (& Aug. 4, 1999).
“Gary & Co. shenanigans at Maris trial“, Apr. 1-2, 2002.
“Lawyers stage sham trial aimed at inculpating third party“, Mar. 22-24, 2002.
Disclosure: “Lending rules trip up litigation-finance firms“, Dec. 3, 2001; Letter to the editor (incremental billing disclosed?), Oct. 22, 2001; “Trial lawyers knew of tire failures, didn’t inform safety regulators“, June 25 (& June 28)(& letter to the editor, July 6); Letter to the editor (ghostwriting), June 13; “ABA’s toothless ethics proposals“, Jan. 17, 2001; “Contingency fee reform“, Nov. 1, 2000.
Contingent fees, 2001: “Lending rules trip up litigation-finance firms“, Dec. 3; “Red-light cameras“, Sept. 6, 2001; “‘The Louima millions’“, July 24; “The rest of Justice O’Connor’s speech“, July 6-8; “Evils of contingent-fee tax collection, cont’d“, May 30; “Reclaiming the tobacco loot“, March 15; “Hugh Rodham’s ‘success fee’“, Feb. 23-25; “Dangers of tax farming“, Jan. 10 (& letter to the editor, Jan. 16). 2000: “Contingency fee reform“, Nov. 1; “‘Lawyer take all’” (equity stakes in clients), Oct. 27-29. 1999: “Piece of the action” (contingent fees for public officials), Dec. 3-5; “Reform stirrings on public contingency fees“, Oct. 15.
Witness coaching, 2001: “GAF sues asbestos lawyers“, Feb. 12-13, 2001 (& see Dec. 10). 2000: “‘N.Y. lawyer charged in immigrant smuggling’“, Sept. 22-24; “Sunday’s Times on Fred Baron“, June 5 (& see “Thanks for the memories” by Walter Olson, Reason, June 1998 and subsequent letters exchange with William Hodes). 1999: “State of legal ethics” (hey, what’s wrong with witness coaching?), Sept. 9.
“‘The Great Mouthpiece’” (Manhattan’s Bill Fallon, 1920s), Dec. 28, 2001.
“‘Halliburton shares plunge on verdict’” (law-firm whistleblowing), Dec. 10, 2001.
“‘2d Circuit Upholds Sanctions Against Firms for Frivolous Securities Claims’“, July 23, 2001 (more on sanctions: Jul. 30-31, 2002).
“Estate law temptations“, July 6-8, 2001; “Lawyers charged with $4.7 million theft from clients“, April 10, 2000; “Lawyers stealing less, clients say“, Dec. 21, 1999.
“Lost his live client, had to substitute dead one instead“, April 11, 2001; “Turn of the screw” (lawyers alleged to have sued without client consent), Oct. 24, 2000; “Curious feature of lawyer’s retainer” (allowed him to settle case without client consent), Sept. 12, 2000.
“‘It’s time to disarm the hired guns’” (Arianna Huffington), Feb. 28-March 1, 2001; “Trustworthy professionals” (survey of public confidence), Dec. 11-12, 2000.
“Fed prosecutors chafe at state ethics rules“, Oct. 16-17, 2000.
“Lenzner: ‘I think what we do is practice law’” (private investigator in Oracle scandal), July 28-30, 2000.
“Access to something” (lawyer accused of working for Social Security Administration while helping clients sue it), July 13, 2000.
“Ready to handle your legal needs” (Stephen Glass graduates Georgetown Law), May 26-29, 2000.
“Steering the evidence” (DaimlerChrysler gets sanctions against lawyers for evidence and witness tampering), May 23, 2000 (& update June 26).
“‘Ad deal links Coke, lawyer in suit’” (Willie Gary, suing Coca-Cola on behalf of clients, enters into a lucrative ad deal with it), May 11, 2000.
“Splash of reality” (sanctions for frivolous litigation in case of claimed Jackson Pollock painting), May 4, 2000.
“Brockovich story, cont’d: the judges’ cruise“, April 18, 2000; “Brockovich story breaks wide open“, April 17, 2000 (& see Dec. 21).
“Majesty of the law” (Phila. attorney Marvin Barish could face sanctions for allegedly threatening to kill opposing counsel during trial break), March 13, 2000; “Relax, you’re being taken care of” (Barish advances injury client’s rent and expenses), Dec. 14, 1999.
“Legal ethics meet medical ethics” (lawyers advise schizophrenic murder defendant to go off his medication for trial), Feb. 26-27, 2000.
“Secrets of class action defense” (assisting cooperative opponent to draft complaint), Feb. 25, 2000.
“Watchdogs could use watching” (fee-splitting in Florida securities cases), Jan. 20, 2000.
“The costs of disclosure” (lawyer reveals misconduct by client, judge), Jan. 19, 2000; “Pack your toothbrush, son” (Ala. law-firm whistleblower), Dec. 20, 1999.
“Popular CLE course: ‘How to Hammer Allstate’” (insurer charged with unauthorized practice of law), Dec. 22, 1999 (update, April 18, 2000).
“Splitsville, N.Y.” (New York mag on divorce), Dec. 17-19, 1999.
“Victory in Florida” (plaintiffs deliberately run up gunmakers’ costs for leverage), Dec. 14, 1999.
“Weekend reading: evergreens” (St. Petersburg Times Pulitzer series on probate law), Dec. 3-5, 1999; “From the evergreen file: L.A. probate horror” (estate of art collector Fred Weisman), Nov. 20-21; “Weekend reading: evergreens” (Denver probate nightmare), Oct. 23-24, 1999.
“Class action fee control: it’s not just a good idea, it’s the law“, Nov. 30, 1999; “Class action coupon-clippers“, Nov. 15; “$49 million legal fee okayed in case where clients got nothing“, Sept. 28, 1999.
“Accommodating theft“, Nov. 11, 1999.
“Who loves trusts-and-estates lawyers?“, Nov. 8, 1999.
“Criticizing lawyers proves hazardous“, Nov. 4, 1999 (update, Nov. 30); “No spotlight on me, thanks” (Houston’s John O’Quinn), Aug. 4, 1999.
“State of legal ethics” (lawyers take out glossy ad to stir up will-contest litigation), Oct. 5-6, 1999.
“Weekend reading: evergreens” (lawyer-abetted accident fraud), Sept. 25-26, 1999; “Wages of wrongdoing” (Staten Island lawyers convicted), Sept. 8, 1999.
“Join our new Verdict Rewards program” (checks for jurors), Sept. 13, 1999 (updates, Sept. 17-19, 1999 and Aug. 4-7, 2000).
“Cook County law bills a secret“, Sept. 11-12, 1999.
“My lawyer is an impostor“, Sept. 3, 1999.
“ABA thinks it can discourage ‘pay-for-play’“, Aug. 11, 1999 (& Aug. 14-15 update).
“Like calling the Orkin man to talk about bugs” (ABA convention), Aug. 10, 1999; “Weekend reading” (ABA choice of speakers), Aug. 28-29, 1999.
“No need for speed“, Aug. 3, 1999.
“Weekend reading” (at execution sale, law firm buys up client’s right to sue it for malpractice), July 31-Aug. 1, 1999.
“Honey, you’ve got mail” (solicitations from divorce lawyers arrive before unsuspecting spouses know they’re being divorced), July 15, 1999.
|
Articles by Overlawyered.com editor Walter Olson: “Thanks for the memories” (coaching of witnesses), June 1998 (& subsequent letters exchange with William Hodes) “Tobacco Analysts Meet the Plaintiff’s Lawyers” (abuse of pretrial discovery), Wall Street Journal, August 30, 1995. “Juries on Trial“, review of The Jury by Stephen J. Adler and We the Jury by Jeffrey Abramson, Reason, February 1995. “Sue City: The Case Against the Contingency Fee“, excerpt from The Litigation Explosion, Policy Review, Winter 1991 [in two parts] [part one] [part two] “Dentists, Bartenders, and Lawyer Unpopularity“, Manhattan Institute Civil Justice Memo #37, April 1999. “Lawyers with Stethoscopes: Clients Beware“, Manhattan Institute Civil Justice Memo #26, June 1996. “Taming the Litigators: Why Not More Disclosure?“, Manhattan Institute Civil Justice Memo #24, February 1996. |
|
Codes of ethics: ABA Center for Professional Responsibility Some online articles of interest: James McCauley, “The Ethics of Making Legal Services Affordable…” (Virginia bar; discusses unauthorized practice, pro se litigation) Rep. Chris Cox, Testimony on tobacco settlement (1997) Lawrence Schonbrun, “Class Actions: The New Ethical Frontier” (Manhattan Institute, 1996) |
Archived loser-pays items, pre-July 2003
“Texas’s giant legal reform” (offer-of-settlement variant), Jun. 18-19, 2003.
“Blog-appreciated” (Larry Sullivan, Delaware Law Office), Jan. 17-19, 2003.
“Lawyers fret about bad image” (Catherine Crier), Oct. 3, 2002; “Welcome Boortz.com listeners” (broadcaster Neal Boortz endorses), Mar. 1, 2002; “Election roundup” (New York Press’s Russ Smith: “simple solution”, Oct. 23, 2000; “Oh, to be in England” (comedian Dennis Miller praises fee shifting on ABC’s “Politically Incorrect”), Jun. 19, 2000; “Loser-pays endorsed by Martina” (tennis great Navratilova), Jul. 12, 1999.
“‘Patient pays price for suing over cold’” (U.K.), Sept. 20-22, 2002; Texas doctors’ work stoppage” (insurance for M.D.s to countersue), Apr. 11, 2002; “‘Valley doctors caught in “lawsuit war zone”‘“, May 3, 2001.
Sanctions, counterclaims, 2001: “Lawyers’ immunity confirmed“, Nov. 15; “‘Attorney
Ordered To Pay Fees for “Rambo” Tactics’“, Oct. 5-7. 2000: “Don’t meet with her alone” (malicious prosecution counterclaim in harassment case), Nov. 1; “Update” (instructor who sued “course critique” site agrees to pay fees), Oct. 10; “Judge tells EEOC to pay employer’s fees“, Oct. 5; “Denny’s fights back against false suits“, Sept. 29-Oct. 1; “The doctor strikes back” (neurosurgeon countersues), Jun. 14-15; “Scorched-earth divorce tactics? Pay up” (Mass. decisions), Jan. 31. 1999: “Even the chance of loser-pays helps keep ’em honest” (costs levied against pilots’ union), Aug. 12.
Letters to the editor: Apr. 16, May 18, Jul. 6, Aug. 1, 2001.
“‘The love children of Flight 261’“, Apr. 10, 2001.
“Securities law: time for loser-pays“, Mar. 2-4, 2001.
“Loser-pays activism” (John Kasich’s New Century Project), Nov. 8, 2000.
“Losers should pay” (columnist Thomas Sowell; environmental injunctions and bonding requirements), Aug. 4-7, 2000.
“Costs of veggie-libel laws” (Oprah Winfrey sued: “the more she wins, the more she loses”), March 20, 2000.
“Bush unveils legal reform plan” (includes offer-of-settlement fee shift idea), Feb. 18, 2000.
“‘Trial lawyers on trial’” (Trevor Armbrister, Readers’ Digest), Dec. 23-26, 1999.
“News flash: Bill Clinton endorses loser-pays!” (at least for himself), Dec. 20, 1999.
“Victory in Florida” (lawyers in gun suits use infliction of legal costs as tactic), Dec. 14, 1999.
“Marbled Murrelet v. Babbitt: heads I win, tails let’s call it even” (environmentalists benefit from “one-way” fee shifts), Sept. 8, 1999 (& see National Law Journal, Dec. 14, 1999).
——————————————————————————–
The essay on loser-pays formerly attached to this archive listing has been moved here.
Archived personal responsibility items, pre-July 2003
Tipple your way to court, 2003: “Shouldn’t have let him get so drunk” (Australia), May 12. 2002: “‘Woman freezes; sues city, cabbie’“, Sept. 18-19; “Wasn’t his fault for lying drunk under truck“, Aug. 16-18; “Hey, no fair talking about the pot” (highway rollover), Apr. 12-14; “European workplace notes” (employer responsible for vodka overdose), Feb. 25-26; “‘Drunken Driver’s Widow Wins Court’s OK To Sue Carmaker’“, Feb. 25-26. 2001: “‘Teen hit by train while asleep on tracks sues railroad’“, Dec. 12; “‘Man suing after drunken driving crash’“, Aug. 20-21; “Don’t rock the Coke machine“, Jul. 20-22; “Court says tipsy topless dancer can sue club“, Jul. 3-4; “Jury: drunk driver hardly responsible at all for fatal crash“, Jun. 15-17; “It was the bar’s fault“, Apr. 13-15; “‘Court upholds workers compensation for drunk, injured worker’“, Apr. 6-8; “‘Woman who drove drunk gets $300,000’” (Ontario), Feb. 7-8 (& see Sept. 24, second case: $18 million); “‘All you can drink’ winner sues over fall“, Jan. 31-Feb. 1. 2000: “Zapped pylon-climber sues liquor-servers, utility“, March 6. 1999: “Personal responsibility wins a round” (judge rejects case from Pa. man who got drunk and climbed high voltage catenary), Sept. 17-19.
Maybe crime does pay, 2003: “‘Robber sues clerk who shot him during holdup’“, May 6; “Not an April Fool’s joke“, Apr. 1; “‘Burglars to be banned from suing victims’” (U.K.), Mar. 10-11; “‘Family of electrocuted thief gets $75,000’“, Feb. 26; “Tried to outrun Coast Guard in chase“, Feb. 14-16; “‘No suits by lawbreakers, please’“, Jan. 27-28 (& Jan. 31-Feb. 2). 2002: “‘Mom who drugged kids’ ice cream sues’“, Nov. 1-3; “‘Patient sues hospital for letting him out on night he killed’” (Australia, psychiatric case), Oct. 16-17; “‘Crime pays for teenage lout’” (Australia), Sept. 3-4; “‘After stabbing son, mom sues doctors’“, May 31-Jun. 2; “‘Barbed wire might hurt burglars, pensioner warned’“, May 28-29; “Hospital rapist sues hospital“, May 22-23 (& Mar. 5-7, 2003: court dismisses case); “Lawyers say taxpayers owe $41 million to smuggled illegals’ survivors“, May 10-12; “L.A. police sued, and sued” (by family of gunman killed in shootout), Apr. 12-14; “Should have arrested him faster” (frostbite in the open), Mar. 1-3; “Vandal’s dad sues store over blaze“, Feb. 6-7; “Paroled prisoner: pay for not supervising me“, Jan. 4-6. 2001: “Firefighter’s demand: back pay for time facing criminal rap“, Aug. 29-30; “‘Man suing after drunken driving crash’“, Aug. 20-21; “‘Criminals could sue their victims’” (U.K.), July 26; “‘Woman who drove drunk gets $300,000’” (Ontario), Feb. 7-8; “Crime does pay” (Denver burglar shot by police gets $1.2 million), Feb. 2. 2000: “‘Burglar sues for compensation’” (Australia), Nov. 21 (& see Apr. 1-2, 2002); “‘Fla. DUI Teen Sues Police’” (should have arrested him, he argues), Nov. 14; “Killed his mother, now suing his psychiatrists“, Oct. 2; “Not my fault, I” (woman who murdered daughter sues psychiatrists), May 17; “$65 million Texas verdict: driver at twice the legal blood limit” (drunk driver’s estate sues automaker), March 28; “From the labor arbitration front” (disallowed firing of employee who pleaded no contest to larceny), March 28; “Crime does pay, cont’d” (North Hollywood, Calif. bank robber killed in police shootout), Feb. 23 (& update March 23: mistrial declared after jury deadlock in suit by robber’s family); “County to pay ‘mountain man’ burglar $412,500“, Feb. 15. 1999: “‘Two men shot in suspected drug deal win $1.7 million’“, Dec. 15 (& update June 6, 2001: appeals court overturns); “California’s worst?” (bank robber sues after hidden tear-gas device goes off in loot), Dec. 14; “Drunks have rights, too“, Dec. 1 (& update Jul. 24-25, 2000: appeals court throws out award). See also our editor’s article on New York’s “mugger millionaire” case.
Pools & swimming, 2003: “‘Lawyers spoil fun’” (Ga. water park), May 19; “‘Florida jury awards $100M for pool accident’“, Feb. 13. 2002: “Australia’s litigation debate“, May 24-26. 2001: “Australian roundup” (bodysurfer), Nov. 23-25; “Needed: assumption of risk“, Jul. 27-29. 2000: “‘How’s the pool?’” (Las Vegas Strip’s Frontier Hotel recommended for its pre-big-lawsuits deep end), Feb. 23; “Latest shallow-end pool dive case“, Jan. 24. 1999: “Razor wire on the pool fence” (homeowner finds it too big a legal risk to let local kids swim), Jul. 27.
“Should have watched his step answering call of nature“, Mar. 8-9, 2003.
Couldn’t help eating it, 2003: “Give me my million“, Jun. 20-22; “Judge tosses McDonald’s obesity case“, Jan. 23 (& Jan. 27-28); “Anti-diet activist hopes to sue Weight Watchers“, Jan. 13-14. 2002: Letter to the editor, Oct. 23; “Claim: docs should have done more to help woman quit smoking and lose weight“, Sept. 18-19; “Personal responsibility roundup“, Sept. 12; “Fat suits, cont’d“, Jul. 26-28; “‘Ailing man sues fast-food firms’“, Jul. 25; “Sin-suit city“, Jun. 10; “McArdle on food as next-tobacco“, May 27; “‘Targeting “big food”‘“, Apr. 29-30; “Life imitates parody: ‘Whose Fault Is Fat?‘”, Jan. 23-24. 2001: “‘Diabetic German judge sues Coca-Cola for his health condition’“, Nov. 18. 2000: “‘Caffeine added to sodas aims to addict — study’“, Aug. 18-20. 1999: “Toffee maker sued for tooth irritation“, Nov. 5-7; “Not just our imagination” (calls for class-action suits against fast-food, meat purveyors), Sept. 25-26.
Warning labels and disclaimers, 2003: “‘Wacky Warning Label’ winners“, Jan. 13-14. 2002: “Satirical-disclaimer Hall of Fame” (Australian humor magazine), Oct. 28-29; “‘Warning …’” (Dave Barry humor column), Aug. 16-18; “Read the label, then ignore it if you like” (flammable carpet adhesive), Jul. 12-14; “Pitcher, hit by line drive, sues maker of baseball bat“, Apr. 19-21; “Injured in ‘human hockey puck’ stunt“, Mar. 18; “‘Before you cheer … “Sign here”‘“, Mar. 15-17; “Didn’t know cinema seats retracted“, Feb. 13-14; “Warning on fireplace log: ‘risk of fire’“, Jan. 25-27. 2001: “Et tu, UT?” (Utah will not enforce parent-signed release forms for children), Nov. 16-18; “Disclaimer rage?“, Oct. 15; “Needed: assumption of risk“, Jul. 27-29; “Quite an ankle sprain” (failure to warn of gopher holes in parks), Apr. 20-22; “‘Wacky Warning Label’ winners“, Jan. 19-21. 2000: “Columnist-fest” (Girl Scout horseback riding disclaimer), Apr. 6; “Rise of the high school sleepover disclaimer“, Mar. 22; “From our mail sack: skin art disclaimers” (tattoo consent form), Mar. 1; “Weekend reading: columnist-fest” (Laura Pulfer on warning labels), Feb. 5-6; “Never iron clothes while they’re being worn” (Wacky Warning Label contest winners), Jan. 18 (& letter to editor, Jan. 21-23). 1999: “Christmas lawyer humor” (Yuletide greetings consisting entirely of disclaimers), Dec. 23-26; “Weekend reading” (disclaimers “creeping into nearly every aspect of American life”), Jul. 31-Aug. 1.
Blamed for suicides, 2003: “‘No suits by lawbreakers, please’“, Jan. 27-28 (& Jan. 31-Feb. 2). 2002: “The blame for suicide“, Sept. 25-26; “‘Addictive’ computer game blamed for suicide“, Apr. 3-4. 2001: “Utah: rescue searchers sued“, Nov. 26, 2001; “‘Shooting range sued over suicide’“, Sept. 27; “$3 million verdict for selling gun used in suicide“, Sept. 17; “‘Suicide- Attempt Survivor Sues’” (department that issued cop his gun), Jan. 24-25.
Excuse syndromes, 2002: “Blue-ribbon excuses” (sex on train), Oct. 7-8; “So depressed he stole $300K“, Mar. 19; “Rough divorce predisposed him to hire hitman“, Feb. 13-14. 2001: “Stories that got away” (multiple-personality defense), Jul. 23; “‘Pseudologica fantastica’ won’t fly” (judge’s fibs on resume), Jun. 7 (& Aug. 20-21); “Judge buys shopaholic defense in embezzling“, May 25-27; “The malaria drug made him do it“, Mar. 28. 2000: “Blue-ribbon excuses” (baked goods mutilator, lawyer pleading incompetent self-representation), Oct. 6-9; “Predestination made him do it” (Pope’s assassin and Fatima prophecy), June 6; “Victim of the century?” (misbehaving school principal collects disability benefits for sexual compulsion), Jun. 2-4; “Prozac made him rob banks“, Mar. 1; “Blue-ribbon excuse syndromes“, Feb. 12-13; “Latest excuse syndromes“, Jan. 13-14. 1999: “Doctor sues insurer, claims sex addiction“, Oct. 13.
“Lightning bolt in amusement park’s parking lot“, Jun. 23, 2003; “‘Woman attacked by goose sues county’“, Jan. 27-28, 2003; “Quite an ankle sprain” (watch where you’re going in parks), Apr. 20-22, 2001.
“MIT sued over student’s nitrous-oxide death“, Feb. 25, 2003; “By reader acclaim: ‘Parents file suit over student’s drug death’” (abuse of Oxycontin), Jul. 25, 2001.
“Take care of myself? That’s the doc’s job“, Feb. 14-16, 2003; “Claim: docs should have done more to help woman quit smoking and lose weight” (Pa.), Sept. 18-19, 2002.
“Satirical-disclaimer Hall of Fame” (Australian humor magazine), Oct. 28-29, 2002; “Tobacco: Boeken record” (The Onion parody), June 19, 2001; “Jury orders ‘Big Chocolate’ to pay $135 billion to obese consumers” (parody), Aug. 3, 2000; “This side of parodies” (fictional account of self-inflicted icepick injury), Oct. 5-6, 1999.
Sports risks: “Sis-Boom-Sue” (cheerleading), Jan. 15-16, 2003; “Skating first, instructions later“, Sept. 25-26, 2002; “Pitcher hit by line drive sues maker of baseball bat“, Apr. 19-21, 2002; “Australian roundup” (Perth bodysurfer), Nov. 23-25, 2001; “Needed: assumption of risk” (baseball thrown into stands, skydiving), July 27-29; “‘Lawsuits could tame ski slopes’“, Feb. 6, 2001; “Promising areas for suits” (foul-ball cases and other stadium injuries), Dec. 7, 2000; “Teams liable for fans’ safety” (Colorado: hockey puck hit into stands), Aug. 15; “‘Skydivers don’t sue’“, May 26-29; “Trips on shoelace, demands $10 million from Nike“, April 7-9, 2000.
Gambling: Letter to the editor, Oct. 23; “Personal responsibility roundup“, Sept. 12, 2002; “Sin-suit city“, Jun. 10; “‘Next tobacco’ watch: gambling“, May 20-21, 2002 (& May 31); “‘Gambling addiction’ class action” (Quebec), June 20, 2001.
Hot beverages: “Litigation good for the country?” (Carl T. Bogus), Aug. 19, 2002; “British judge rejects hot-drink suits“, Mar. 29-31, 2002 (& Aug. 10, 2000); “By reader acclaim” (Illinois case; complainant sues mother), Jan. 11, 2001; “‘Court says warning about hot coffee unnecessary’” (Nevada Supreme Court), Jul. 18, 2000; “Now it’s hot chocolate“, Apr. 4, 2000.
“‘Family of boy injured by leopard may sue’“, Jul. 18, 2002; “Skinny-dipping with killer whale: ‘incredibly bad judgment’“, Sept. 21, 1999 (Oct. 7 update: case dropped).
“Wasn’t his fault for lying drunk under truck“, Aug. 16-18, 2002; “‘Win Big! Lie in Front of a Train!’“, Jun. 26-27, 2002 (& Jul. 12-14); “Australian roundup” (graffiti artist on train), Nov. 23-25, 2001; “Hit after laying on RR tracks; sues railroad“, Oct. 23, 2001.
“‘Man awarded $60,000 for falling over barrier’“, Mar. 5, 2002.
“Utah: rescue searchers sued“, Nov. 26, 2001.
“Suit blames drugmaker for Columbine“, Oct. 24-25, 2001.
“Mosh pit mayhem“, Sept. 7-9, 2001.
“Urban legend alert: six ‘irresponsibility’ lawsuits“, Aug. 27-28, 2001.
“Don’t rock the Coke machine“, Jul. 20-22, 2001.
“Tobacco: Boeken record“, June 19, 2001.
Scary!: “From dinner party to court” (U.K. hypnotist), May 22, 2001; “Hypnotist sued by entranced spectator“, March 3-14, 2001; “Girl puts head under guillotine; sues when hurt“, March 8, 2000; “Haunted house too scary“, Jan. 6, 2000; “‘Scared out of business’” (decline of community Halloween haunted houses), Nov. 5-7, 1999.
Stop having fun (children’s recreation): see schools page.
“Tendency of elastic items to recoil well known“, Mar. 6, 2001.
“By reader acclaim” (sues alleged crack dealers over own addiction), Jan. 11, 2001.
“Smoker’s suit nixed in Norway“, Dec. 18-19, 2000; “Personal responsibility takes a vacation in Miami” (Engle tobacco verdict), July 8, 1999.
“Highway responsibility” (Derrick Thomas suit), Nov. 28, 2000.
“Fat tax proposed in New Zealand“, Oct. 31, 2000.
“More things you can’t have: raw-milk cheeses“, Oct. 3, 2000; “More things you can’t have” (unpasteurized cider, New England square dances), Sept. 27, 1999; “More things you can’t have” (rare hamburgers, food sent to summer camp), August 9, 1999.
“Smoking and responsibility: columnists weigh in” (after Florida verdict), Jul. 28-30, 2000.
“‘”Whiplash!” America’s most frivolous lawsuits’” (book collects cases), Jul. 14-16, 2000.
“Inmate: you didn’t supervise me” (horseplay alone in cell), Jul. 7, 2000.
“Can’t sue over affair with doctor” (court rules it was consensual), Jun. 13, 2000.
“Risky? Who’da thunk it?” (currency speculator sues over losses), Jun. 9-11, 2000.
“‘Jury awards apparent record $220,000 for broken finger’” (hurt while dancing), May 22, 2000.
“Videogame maker agrees to furnish safety gloves“, Mar. 13, 2000.
“Letourneau scandal: now where’s my million?” (boy sues), Apr. 20, 2000.
“All dressed up“, Apr. 19, 2000.
“Down repressed-memory lane I: costly fender-bender” (eggshell-psyche plaintiff), Dec. 29-30, 1999.
“Down repressed-memory lane II: distracted when she signed” (separation agreement), Dec. 29-30, 1999.
“GM verdict roundup” (lawyers shift drunk drivers’ responsibility to automakers), Dec. 16, 1999; “Drunks have rights, too“, Dec. 1, 1999.
“Rolling the dice (cont’d)” (Internet gambler sues credit card companies that advanced him money), Dec. 7, 1999; “Rolling the dice” (same), Aug. 26, 1999.
“Responsibility, RIP” (columnist Mona Charen), Nov. 2, 1999.
“The art of blame” (death of child left in hot van), Oct. 20, 1999.
“Nominated by reader acclamation” (killer’s parents sue school district, lawmen for failing to prevent Columbine massacre), Oct. 18, 1999.
“Block PATH to lawsuits” (fall out of tree in yard, sue your employer), Sept. 1, 1999.
“To restore individual responsibility, bring back contract principles” (Cato Institute paper by Prof. Michael Krauss), Aug. 16, 1999.
“Somebody might trip” (NYC condemns prints-of-the- Hollywood-stars sidewalk as slip hazard), Aug. 13, 1999.
“All have lost, and all must have damages” (huge award to salesman who hawked bad insurance policies since he’s a victim too), Aug. 3, 1999.
Through much of American history, courts discouraged lawsuits arising from risks that individuals were deemed to have assumed in the course of going about familiar activities, such as the risk of being thrown while horseback riding, of slipping on toys underfoot while visiting a house with children, or of being hit with a foul ball while attending a ball game. (Stored search on “assumption of risk”: Google, Alta Vista). Under the doctrine of “contributory negligence”, they often dismissed, as a matter of law, cases where a complainant’s own negligence had helped cause an accident. They were even less likely to entertain cases in which someone’s knowing or deliberate dereliction had placed him in physical peril, such as cases in which people sue over injuries sustained in the course of committing crimes or attempting suicide. And finally, they gave broad respect to express contractual disclaimers or waivers of liability: if a party was on notice that the other side in a transaction wasn’t willing to assume a responsibility, it wouldn’t be easy to tag them later with that responsibility in court.
By the 1950s all these old barriers to liability had come under sustained attack in the law schools, where they were viewed as insulating defendants’ misconduct from legal scrutiny and impeding the forward march of liability law as a (high-overhead) variety of social insurance. Most states moved from contributory negligence to comparative negligence, which allows a plaintiff whose negligence helped cause an accident to sue over it anyway, though for a reduced recovery. Waivers and disclaimers began to be struck down as unconscionable, against public policy, not spelled out with sufficient clarity, etc. And assumption of risk was whittled down by way of a dozen techniques: the most influential torts scholar of the postwar period, William Prosser, took the view that “that implied reasonable assumption of risk should not be allowed to reduce a plaintiff’s damage in any way” (Chase Van Gorder, “Assumption of Risk Under Washington Law“).
The result is today’s American legal environment in which plaintiffs routinely try their luck at suits after being injured climbing high-voltage utility structures while drunk, skinny-dipping in icy pools with captive killer whales, trying “wheelies” and other stunts on industrial forklifts, and smoking for decades. Some of these suits succeed at obtaining settlements while others fail, and it’s important to bear in mind that assumption of risk and related doctrines have not disappeared entirely. Their general decay, however, has been important in bringing us today’s hypertrophy of such areas of law as premises liability, product liability and recreational liability.
The website of attorney D. Pamela Gaines has useful resources on assumption of risk as it applies to such areas as premises liability, recreation and amusement parks. At the International Mountain Bicycling Association site, Tina Burckhardt explains “recreational use statutes” which grant some protection from liability lawsuits to landowners who allow free recreational use of their property.
Archived animal rights items, 1999-June 2003
Archived entries before July 2003 can also be found here.
2003: “‘Suit seeks to keep elephant at L.A. zoo’“, May 16-18 (& update Jun. 2); “Pigs’ right not to be bored” (EU), Feb. 26; “Pet custody as legal practice area“, Feb. 17; “‘Grieve for Fido, but don’t litigate’“, Feb. 12.
2002: “Suit: schoolkids shouldn’t attend rodeo“, Oct. 24; “Officious intermeddlers, pet division” (chimps; lawyers intervene in divorces on behalf of couple’s cats and dogs), May 14-15; “Zoo asserts animals’ ‘medical privacy’“, May 8; “Lawyers for chimps?“, Apr. 29-30; “‘PETA Says It Will Sue New Jersey Over Deer/Car Accident’“, Feb. 25-26; “All things sentimental and recoverable“, Jan. 30-31.
2001: “‘North America’s most dangerous mammal’” (deer), Nov. 29; “Fight over dog’s disposition said to cost taxpayers $200K“, Nov. 21-22; “Harvard Law’s new Bob Barker program in animal rights“, Jul. 5.
2000: “Lab mice paperwork“, Oct. 26; “European roundup” (Swiss animal-rights initiative), Oct. 16-17; “‘Parody of animal rights site told to close’“, Jul. 3-4; “Compare and contrast: puppy’s life and human’s“, Jun. 22-25; “Suits by household pets?“, May 26-29; “From the dog’s point of view“, Feb. 8-9; “Down, attorney! Down!“, Feb. 1; “Weekend reading: columnist-fest” (Laura Pulfer on animal rights), Feb. 5-6.
1999: “Got milk? Get sued” (veggie lawsuit against milk in schools), Dec. 16; “Wide world of federal law enforcement” (“crush video” ban), Oct. 16-17; “Not just our imagination” (class action against “Big Meat”?), Sept. 25-26; “Polly in Margaritaville” (felony defendant charged with getting parrot tipsy), Aug. 2.
Archived advertising and solicitation posts through June 2003
“New Orleans cleanup continues“, Jun. 10-11, 2003.
“Mississippi investigation heats up“, May 7, 2003; “‘Oxy Morons’“, May 30, 2002; “Trial lawyers vs. OxyContin“, Aug. 7-8, 2001; “Target: Alka-Seltzer” (phenylpropanolamine, PPA), April 6-8, 2001 (& Dec. 18, 2001).
“‘Streets strewn with glass, gold’“, May 4-5, 2003.
“Thrill of the chase“, Mar. 4, 2003.
“Client-chasing: we interrupt your grief“, Feb. 21-23, 2003.
“Client-chasing: tantrum-enablers“, Feb. 21-23, 2003.
“Politico’s law associate suspended over ‘runner’ use” (Louisiana), Feb. 14-16, 2003.
“Targeting Wall Street“, Jan. 30, 2003.
“Lawyers’ advertising, 25 years later“, Dec. 23, 2002.
Websites, 2003: “Slip, fall, learn who to blame“, Feb. 4-5. 2002: “Trial lawyers vs. Thimerosal“, Dec. 20-22; “Sic ’em on Segway“, Aug. 1; “Jury nails ‘The Hammer’” (MillionDollarLungs.com, CPalsy.com), Jun. 17-18. 2001: “Trial lawyers vs. OxyContin“, Aug. 7-8; “Letter to the editor” (fallingmerchandise.com), May 18. 2000: “Down, attorney! Down!” (dogbitelaw.com), Feb. 1. 1999: “‘Some lawyers try to make nice’” (Egypt Air 990), Nov. 29; “Click here to sue!” (AOL volunteers), Sept. 7; “Click here to sue!” (“employee misclassification”), Aug. 19.
“After our own heart” (coach attacked by fans solicited to sue baseball club), Sept. 27-29, 2002.
“Patriotic, or promotional?” (billboard), Sept. 13-15, 2002.
“Jury nails ‘The Hammer’” (jury finds lawyer’s ads false and misleading in legal-malpractice case), Jun. 17-18, 2002.
“‘Friends don’t let friends plead guilty’” (lawyer’s slogan), May 13, 2002.
“The lawyers who invented spam“, Mar. 29-31, 2002.
“Texas docs plan walkout”, Mar. 15-17, 2002; “A ‘Jenny Jones Show’ question“, Mar. 12, 2002; “For client-chasers, daytime TV gets results“, Dec. 18, 2001.
“‘Halliburton shares plunge on verdict’” (“million dollar lungs”), Dec. 10, 2001.
“Profiling perfectly OK after all” (ACLU billboard solicits racial profiling plaintiffs), Nov. 16-18, 2001.
“U.S. Muslims told: don’t talk to law enforcement” (by lawyer promoting his services), Oct. 29, 2001.
“‘Company tried to capitalize on Sept. 11’“, Oct. 15, 2001.
“Meet the ‘wrongful-birth’ bar“, Aug. 22-23, 2001.
“‘Lawyer says Yellow Book ad makes him look bad, sues for damages’“, July 3-4, 2001; “Let your fingers do the suing” (Michigan’s “AAAA Legal Center“), Feb. 17, 2000; “The Yellow Pages indicator“, Oct. 9-10, 1999.
“‘Insect lawyer ad creates buzz’” (Canadian law firm’s recruitment ad), May 23, 2001.
“From dinner party to court” (U.K.), May 22, 2001.
“Letter to the editor” (law firm “consumer columns”), May 18, 2001.
“Behind the subway ads” (1-800-DIVORCE, etc.), Dec. 18-19, 2000.
“Scarier than they bargained for” (“grenades” sent as promotion), Oct. 5, 2000.
“Press releases, or ‘strike suit’ ads?” (announcements of securities lawsuits), March 6, 2000.
“‘Ambulance chaser’ label ruled defamatory” (appeals court says lawyer can sue), Jan. 24, 2000.
“Free expression, with truth in advertising thrown in?” (injury lawyer flies Jolly Roger pirate flag), Dec. 31, 1999-Jan. 2, 2000.
“Pack your toothbrush, son” (Alabama: charges of paying hospital, police employees for leads on cases), Dec. 20, 1999.
“‘Some lawyers try to make nice’” (Ohio Bar ads), Nov. 29, 1999.
“State of legal ethics” (ad stirring up will-contest litigation), Oct. 5-6, 1999.
“Mass. high court opens lawyer-ad floodgates“, Sept. 17-19, 1999.
“Like calling the Orkin man to talk about bugs” (Johnnie Cochran 18-page promotional bio at A.B.A. convention), August 10, 1999.
“Honey, you’ve got mail” (Florida divorce-lawyer solicitations arrive before clients know they’re being divorced), July 15, 1999.
“What a recommendation” (O.J. Simpson to cut TV ads for 1-800 lawyer referral service), July 6, 1999; see also Dec. 8-10, 2000 (Fla. battle over lawyer TV ads).
“This time, bombing the taxpayer” (controversy over American attorney John Burris’ recruitment of embassy-bombing victims), Jul. 5, 1999. (More resources on same episode: Mike Kelly, Bergen Record, Apr. 18, 1999; Newsweek International, Apr. 12, 1999, links now dead.)
The annotated external links formerly present on this page are now here.