Bar Wars

Trial lawyers are not the scourge of the earth, no matter what the prez says.

by Larry Atkins

Like William Shakespeare, the Republican Party wants to kill all the trial lawyers. OK, Maybe it doesn't go that far, but it sure doesn't want one, namely Democratic Sen. John Edwards, to become vice president.

During the past few years, Republicans have demonized trial lawyers and equated them to al-Qaeda and the Ku Klux Klan on the human food chain. It's becoming evident that the tort-reform debate between consumer and business interests will be on display throughout the campaign.

President Bush recently stated at a rally in Pittsburgh that he doesn't "think you can be pro-doc, pro-patient and pro-trial lawyer at the same time." In his recent "Girlyman" speech, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger singled out trial lawyers as a problem. Two weeks ago, Vice President Dick Cheney gave a speech before doctors at an Ohio medical college during which he blamed trial lawyers for increased insurance costs.

Republicans claim that frivolous lawsuits brought by trial lawyers have resulted in runaway jury verdicts, thus resulting in higher medical costs and higher insurance premiums. As reviled as they might be, trial lawyers serve a valuable function in society. Lawsuits against major corporations, including HMOs and hospitals, help to keep these corporations in check. They act as consumer advocates and encourage the placement of safer products on the market.

If you want to slap an evil Darth Vader tag on someone, look no further than Bush and Cheney and their cozy relationships with big business and major corporations. Bush was part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team and was a Texas oil businessman before being elected governor in 1994. Cheney ran the Halliburton oil-services company before resigning in 2000 to become Bush's running mate. Cheney receives more than $178,000 a year in deferred pay from Halliburton, which overbilled on multibillion-dollar, no-bid contracts to provide food and shelter to American troops in Iraq.

Corporate scandals have run rampant during the past few years, including the Enron bankruptcy. It's evident that the Bush-Cheney ticket cares more about protecting big business than providing health insurance to millions of uninsured Americans.

Modern-day America is becoming like America of the late 1800s, with greedy corporations and the emergence of monopolies.

Republicans might whine about trial lawyers, but if one of them gets in trouble with the law or is being investigated, who would be the first person they would call? After all, didn't Bush and Cheney rely on trial lawyers to help them win the election four years ago during the Florida recount?

Like in any profession, there are unethical, ambulance-chasing trial lawyers who give the field a bad name. Edwards and Sen. John Kerry support sanctions against plaintiffs and lawyers who bring frivolous medical malpractice suits.

However, many, if not most, trial lawyers fight for the underdog — injured victims and average consumers who otherwise wouldn't have any chance of being compensated for legitimate injuries.

During his career as a trial lawyer, Edwards was more like Luke Skywalker than Darth Vader. Sure, he made plenty of money, but he also took on cases to fight for the rights of average people as victims of defective products and medical malpractice. He represented a 5-year-old girl whose intestines were sucked into a swimming pool drain and a boy with cerebral palsy whose insurer refused to pay for therapy. Unlike Bush, a child of privilege who got every job he ever had due to his family's connections, Edwards earned his money on his own.

Tort reform might sound great, but much of it is a vehicle to protect large corporations and hurt the rights of injured consumers and limit their access to the judicial system. If it weren't for trial lawyers, who would serve as a check on the tobacco companies, asbestos manufacturers, manufacturers of defective tires and roll-over vehicles, and hospitals and doctors who commit medical malpractice?

So, if the Republicans want to make barristers a campaign issue, I say bring 'em on. May the Force be with the trial lawyer.

Larry Atkins (larryltatkins@aol.com) is a lawyer and writer who lives in Philadelphia and is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. If you would like to respond to this Slant or have one of your own (800 words), contact Brian Hickey, City Paper interim editor, 123 Chestnut St., third floor, Phila., PA 19106 or e-mail hickey@citypaper.net.