Quoted from Taxman:Lawyers wrote most of the laws we can't navigate without paying a lawyer. Congress writes the laws. While the percent of lawyers in congress has dropped dramatically to 40% now from 80% about 50 years ago it is still a huge percent and does not reflect the people they are supposed to be representing.
Your pedestrian assumption about my nickname Taxman thinking it is related to the IRS or taxes in anyway is a totally wrong assumption. But funny you should mention that since the job of the IRS is to implement the laws created by (wait for it) that same lawyer packed group in congress. People blame the IRS for making things so complex and convoluted when they should be pointing the finger at the same group who made civil and criminal laws as well as tax laws. Why are they so complex? Because in order to get elected and get favors (akin to lining pockets again) they write special little loopholes into the tax code to appease their constituents.
Funny you should bring in another profession riddled with litigation healthcare with medical malpractice costs for physicians. Legal costs for hospitals and drug companies...
Please don't tell me society has not become over litigious. Common sense laws to fix issues like frivolous lawsuits would be fairly simple. But this would cut down on the need for lawyers and the only people who can make this fix are - lawyers.
When people talk about the legal system being long, slow, broken, ... there is a reason and a group you can point the finger at and they invented the system they have to navigate.
Your comments have some validity as to federal and bankruptcy law. But, they do not apply to state law. Accordingly, your statistics miss the point. My disagreement with you is primarily your unjustified scapegoating of Keith in his role as the lawyer seeking justice for the Predator victims.
First, the number of lawsuits have steadily dropped nationally in the last decade, based on population. It's a fact that in most states the cases which consume a disproportionate share of judicial resources are the major corporations suing each other, e.g. Pennzoil v. Texaco. The Predator debtor-creditor variety of cases are not clogging the court system. Keith's case is little more than the flea on the tail of the dog in terms of perspective. Thus, even though Keith's case is subject to the federal bankruptcy system, it's not the very few frivolous cases preventing it from progressing in a timely manner.
Indeed, Rule 9 is designed to thwart frivolous lawsuits in the federal courts. Lawyers who file such suits can be personally fined. A lawyer has a financial disincentive to file a frivolous suit. All states have Rule 9 counterparts to dissuade frivolous litigation. Like any imperfect system, the law does not eradicate 100% of the frivolous cases. The "too many frivolous lawsuits is destroying our country mantra" is the pablum of certain political interests, which you have swallowed, absent a factual analysis. Statistically, domestic relations cases are far more litigious than collection cases. If you want to reduce the docket, petition your congressional representative to enact different marriage, divorce and custody laws or else appoint and/or elect local judges to modify state common law to effectuate that result.
In New Jersey, much of our backlog is attributable to empty judicial seats as opposed to underlying procedure. The second reason for backlogs in NJ is the exploitation by insurance companies to the detriment of consumers. Insurance companies have an incentive to drag out litigation. Doing so forces plaintiffs to fold by attrition, in many instances. The laws of "bad faith" designed to prevent insurance carrier exploitation are weak nationwide. What is needed to streamline litigation are disincentives for insurance carriers to embark on obstructionism. Such laws would go a long way to help reduce the backlog.
As for the IRS Code analogy, you have proved my point. As you accurately state, Congress writes IRS loophole laws to benefit powerful constituents. Those constituents are corporations like the insurance lobby and pharmaceutical lobby. Congress is not writing those laws at the behest of the CPA lobby so that the accountants can line their pockets (even though some corporate accountants will doubtlessly profit by more complex tax laws). Likewise, Congress will change an environmental law, for example, to cater to the coal lobby. There is no monolithic and powerful group of environmental law lawyers lobbying Congress so that those lawyers can increase their billable hours.
It's so easy to default to false and reductive reasoning when discussing a universally maligned profession, like the legal profession. With all of its thorns, there is no other civil justice system anywhere in the world which equals the American system. Your posts are of the 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" sentiment, the often-quoted and typically misunderstood line from Shakespeare's "Henry VI." But, oversimplification and propaganda are often dispelled by fact-checking and understanding the details and nuances.
Scholars know that Shakespeare's dialogue was intended to underscore the crucial positive role of lawyers in society as guardians of justice and the rule of law. That is why Dick the Butcher, the rebel leader's henchman, uttered that famous line. In order to engender anarchy, the first task is to kill all of those who stand in the way of the mob, meaning the guardians of the rule of law, i.e. the lawyers. Keith is one of those lawyers. If you want better updates, then contact him. Personally, I would rather know that Keith is spending his limited time working on the actual case rather than spending his time updating you so that your anxiety level is reduced.
I am not involved in the Predator case, having not preordered this title. I have no personal stake in Keith's case. I don't know Keith nor have I ever communicated with him. As a litigator myself, who has an understanding of the litigation environment and the frustration of Predator victims, I feel compelled to alight upon this soapbox and come to Keith's defense.