I don't have HBO, but watched the trailers. It's hard to know anything without the data. The difficulty, it seems to me, after walking the planet for a few weekends, is that all sides have agendas...there seems to be significant 'fatigue' incurred simply meeting the bar (no pun intended) to even move forward with issues in our legal system. There is little doubt, navigating on one's own is a pretty much a non-starter, and getting help takes a large bite of the apple. I know this, however. One should generally hire the 500/hr attorney rather than the 100/her attorney, because as an old friend used to say, "They know how to turn the screws." Justice, on the other hand is a different issue...:-)
Ted, I agree that all sides have agendas, but I am of the opinion that the tort-reformers agenda is far more harmful to our system of justice than the occasional "outrageous" jury award. I have been on both sides of this issue as I clerked for an insurance defense firm and then later did some plaintiff's work. That doesn't make me anything approximating an expert, but I am well aware of the arguments of both sides and have come to the firmly-held conviction that tort reform (such a misnomer) really has nothing to do with keeping costs low from the consumer. Health care costs have not decreased in tort reform states relative to states without tort reform and medical malpractice insurance premiums have not decreased in states with "tort reform". This outcome is wildly inconsistent with what the public was led to believe would occur. I could go on and on, but ithe movie does a far more masterful job of bulleting the these very complex issues than I ever could. And in case you were wondering, I don't do plaintiff's work, so I don't have a financial dog in this fight.
I don't have HBO, but watched the trailers. It's hard to know anything without the data. The difficulty, it seems to me, after walking the planet for a few weekends, is that all sides have agendas...there seems to be significant 'fatigue' incurred simply meeting the bar (no pun intended) to even move forward with issues in our legal system. There is little doubt, navigating on one's own is a pretty much a non-starter, and getting help takes a large bite of the apple. I know this, however. One should generally hire the 500/hr attorney rather than the 100/her attorney, because as an old friend used to say, "They know how to turn the screws." Justice, on the other hand is a different issue...:-)
ReplyDeleteTed, I agree that all sides have agendas, but I am of the opinion that the tort-reformers agenda is far more harmful to our system of justice than the occasional "outrageous" jury award. I have been on both sides of this issue as I clerked for an insurance defense firm and then later did some plaintiff's work. That doesn't make me anything approximating an expert, but I am well aware of the arguments of both sides and have come to the firmly-held conviction that tort reform (such a misnomer) really has nothing to do with keeping costs low from the consumer. Health care costs have not decreased in tort reform states relative to states without tort reform and medical malpractice insurance premiums have not decreased in states with "tort reform". This outcome is wildly inconsistent with what the public was led to believe would occur. I could go on and on, but ithe movie does a far more masterful job of bulleting the these very complex issues than I ever could. And in case you were wondering, I don't do plaintiff's work, so I don't have a financial dog in this fight.
ReplyDeleteSo are you suggesting that doubling my rates will double my credibility? I gotta say, that is an awesome thought!
ReplyDelete