And lawyers can all just die as far as I am concerned, including your wife.

Ah, well, you win then.

Blow me.

Touché!

Posted at March 22, 2007 6:37 AM in response to The opt out myth

So, you are arguing that yes, my wife who receives about 25 to 40 bucks an hour for representing wards of the state, should indeed die. Because she hasn't taken the time to completely overhaul our centuries-old legal system. Between changing poopy diapers, presumably, is when you expect for her to take her part in that.

Incidentally, it isn't just my wife: thousands of lawyers out there do similar work. Most have little or no power to affect the system--in fact, there really is no "system," as you put it. It's an economy, with buyers, sellers, and (as you allude to in your original post) all kinds of arbitrage. Economies work as eco-systems, not simple systems. They are not easily and predictably changed.

You undermine your arguments--the parts without the mass-slaughter fantasies--about the high cost of lawyers by implying that the cheap ones are somehow poor in quality. You say, "and you can expect them to come to court knowing some of the details and pretty much just making s*** up about the rest." If this is indeed the truth, it seems that you may as well represent yourself. Or that the low-cost options would be just as good.

Not sure how Santa Claus comes into this, to be honest, unless you are just trying to dismiss me as an idiot. I suggest that you might want to channel the rage at some more appropriate target. After all, I'm not a lawyer, just married to one whom I'd prefer to continue living.

Posted at March 21, 2007 9:09 PM in response to The opt out myth

See his response below. I don't think he is joking. And, honestly, all the "let's kill all the lawyers" remarks start to get irritating after a while.

Posted at March 21, 2007 8:33 PM in response to The opt out myth

On the other hand, I really don't care that lawyers require their employees to work 60-80-100 hour weeks and pay employees less that can't do that. (Frankly, I wish they would require 168 hour weeks so they could all drop dead.) What I think is a crock is that our legal system expects people that are in a chokehold in the legal system to pay them $300 an hour or up, or otherwise have no or poor representation. The legal system crisis is not that women that enter it have to choose either being in it or having a kid, the legal system crisis is that unless you are a millionaire you can't expect any real support from a lawyer.

Sir: My wife makes between 30 to 40 bucks an hour (no benefits) representing children who are wards of the state in a depressed inner-city. She cares deeply about her work, routinely buys the kids small things like notebooks, shoes, even tampons. Her law degree is from University of Michigan, and she could certainly work for more if she chose to.

Additionally, she's a great mother to our son, and we're expecting another child soon. I couldn't be more lucky than I am to be married to this woman.

You just wished her dead.

Posted at March 21, 2007 6:10 PM in response to The opt out myth