WHY SHOULD YOU NEED A LAWYER?

18 December 2009


I have not posted any blog for 4 weeks as I was in India visiting relatives and friends along with a bit of sight seeing.


On my flight back from Mumbai I read “the associate” written by John Grisham. It gave a glimpse of inner workings of a big law firm. Of course it is a work of fiction and the writer has taken the usual liberties to suit the plot. But I really wonder, as a society why we need a private lawyer. I do understand that a civilised society needs to lay down some rules i.e. laws to function properly. There is a need for law makers, law enforcers and judges who can adjudicate in case of disputes. Law schools can produce this entire workforce.


If someone does wrong or perceived to have done wrong, the case goes before a judge. He/she should decide one way or the other taking all the evidence and legal angles into consideration. Where is the need for a lawyer? Now a day you need a lawyer to argue your case and point out the holes in the opposition’s case. This should be done by the judge or judges without any intermediary (the lawyers). Certainly you will need many more judges to do this and this is where the lawyers should be employed. The independence of judges and judiciary is paramount for this to be successful. But is not this what we should strive for as a society rather than spend a lot of money and effort on private lawyers who make the delivery of justice so expensive and slow?


I will give you an analogy. A patient takes a private doctor to see the specialist surgeon in the hospital? The private doctor will present patient’s case to the specialist and argue about different treatments for a few months before the surgeon makes the diagnosis and provides the treatment. This will make good business for doctors and make the health care really expensive and slow. A patient who can hire a good advocate doctor will get better treatment. And a good advocate doctor will earn more than the specialist surgeon. Nothing in health care will be done without employing a lot of advocate doctors. I am sure no one will like to have such a health system. Then why do we have similar legal system.


I must make it clear that my rants are against the legal system not against the lawyers. I am sure my brother in law who is a lawyer, understands this and the peace in my family continues.


Glance through this really amusing poem “one million lawyers by Tom Paxton” http://www.julianhermida.com/algoma/law1classactivities.htm