Hola Amigos!
I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but I've been busy as hell. Seriously. The summer has been worse than the school year thus far. I think that might be because I have conditioned myself to think summer = break. Not so this time. That write-on killed me. The thing is, I ran out of steam towards the end and did a really half-assed job of citing everything, so it could all be for naught. Prof. X assumed that I wouldn't have the work done today (I guess it was supposed to be done Thursday), so hopefully I can score some brownie points there, but it does make me want to kick myself for staying up until 6 in the morning getting that stuff done last night.
It's really weird... I feel bad complaining about the 32 hours a week I actually spend working. I have two friends who are working 40 hours a week at two jobs this summer. THAT has to suck. Hat's off to them. Seriously. I couldn't do that.
Unrelated note: I really want to see Cinderella Man. I heard Paul Giametti was spectacular. He may actually be one of the most underrated actors out there.
Second unrelated note: A couple of my more libertarian friends have recently questioned the need for the bar exam. "Why not just let the market take care of incompetent lawyers?" Well, because an incompetent lawyer can really mess up your life, pretty bad. It's really a form of consumer protection. The vast majority of the population are not sophisticated consumers of legal services. They are unable to distinguish between a competent attorney, and This Guy. Here's some background info on this person's story.
Now, I know I might get bashed for being an elitist, but the person who wrote that letter should never, ever, EVER be allowed to represent someone in court. The law is hard, this is why good lawyers are paid hundreds of dollars an hour. This guy is not cut out for it. Lawyers handle other people's money, homes, businesses, family disputes, freedom, and sometimes even their lives. It's not a responsibility that should be entrusted to any schmoe who happens to wander into a courtroom.
It's really weird... I feel bad complaining about the 32 hours a week I actually spend working. I have two friends who are working 40 hours a week at two jobs this summer. THAT has to suck. Hat's off to them. Seriously. I couldn't do that.
Unrelated note: I really want to see Cinderella Man. I heard Paul Giametti was spectacular. He may actually be one of the most underrated actors out there.
Second unrelated note: A couple of my more libertarian friends have recently questioned the need for the bar exam. "Why not just let the market take care of incompetent lawyers?" Well, because an incompetent lawyer can really mess up your life, pretty bad. It's really a form of consumer protection. The vast majority of the population are not sophisticated consumers of legal services. They are unable to distinguish between a competent attorney, and This Guy. Here's some background info on this person's story.
Now, I know I might get bashed for being an elitist, but the person who wrote that letter should never, ever, EVER be allowed to represent someone in court. The law is hard, this is why good lawyers are paid hundreds of dollars an hour. This guy is not cut out for it. Lawyers handle other people's money, homes, businesses, family disputes, freedom, and sometimes even their lives. It's not a responsibility that should be entrusted to any schmoe who happens to wander into a courtroom.
posted by Snubligent at 7:07 PM
5 Comments:
Gah...it's people like these who gives lawyers a bad name.
That's why the sleezy lawyer character in The Simpsons (Lionel Hutz?)
Yeah... I felt kind of bad posting that. It's necessary though. I don't think the guy was a scumbag, just a moron. He (actually I'm making a big assumption in calling him a "he" because the letter doesn't reference gender) is obviously not cut out to practice law though. It'd be like me trying to be a Dr... I have no idea how organic chemistry works, and I never will. My brain just isnt' equipped to deal with numbers/hard sciences, much like this guy's brain isn't tooled for the law.
Sorry, snub, I'm going to have to disagree with you.
You said "The law is hard, this is why good lawyers are paid hundreds of dollars an hour."
Well, not really. They are paid hundreds of dollars an hour because someone is willing to pay them hundreds of dollars an hour. Economics 101.
That is not to say that the work isn't hard. I will agree with you that the law is hard, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you will get paid more money the harder the work you do.
For instance, let's contrast MDs and DVMs. Both go through (roughly) the same amount of schooling. However, I'm going to go ahead and say that the vet's job is harder because of species variation. Regardless, MDs get paid WAY more than veterinarians. Is their job that much harder that it warrants the pay hike? Absolutely not. A MDs salary has much to do with the fact that insurance companies pay the bills, and not the people themselves.
As a result, veterinarians charge far less for, say, something like a CBC because they know that this will be the owner's out-of-pocket expense.
So no, the harder jobs don't guarantee being paid 'hundreds of dollars' per hour unless you find someone willing to pay that.
Many people/instutions need good lawyers. Most people are not cut out to be good lawyers, because this is hard. I assumed the fact that it was hard implicitly restricts the supply.
sorry... to be clear I also assume that there is a demand for lawyers.
I bet Horse vets (equine vets?) who are really good and care for incredibly valuable racehorses are paid quite well. I'd also make the same bet re: MD's who can save lives. Implicit in both assumptions are 1) there is a limited supply of people who can do the job, and 2) people need the job done and are willing to pay for it.
p.s. i really need to figure out how to edit my comments...
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