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Freedom Book of the Month
Email List Archive
Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m B o o k o f t h e M o n t h
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Edited by Sunni Maravillosa. To join or leave this and other
lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
* March, 2002: "The Rule of Lawyers," by Walter K. Olson
* New and notable
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Freedom Book of the Month for March, 2003:
"The Rule of Lawyers: How the New Litigation Elite Threatens
America's Rule of Law"
by Walter K. Olson
St. Martin's Press, 2003, hardcover, 358 pp.
ISBN: 0-312-28085-8
If lawyers thought they got little respect from the general populace
before, they'd better get ready to hit a new low when more people
read "The Rule of Lawyers: How the New Litigation Elite Threatens
America's Rule of Law". Think you've heard it all about outrageous
jury awards? Think that you know all the dirty little tricks lawyers
use? Walter K. Olson's revelations will likely astonish most people
who aren't intimately acquainted with the American legal system.
Olson has researched the shift toward more flexible litigation, and
in the introduction he reveals its origins -- an article written in
1976 that outlined the justification for easing the rules on filing
class-action lawsuits, and provided a long list of harms and the
businesses that could be sued over them. Not surprisingly -- the
volume the article appeared in was co-edited by Ralph Nader -- auto
makers were a big target. Tobacco companies, junk food makers, any
business that could conceivably be held accountable for some harm
ought to be sued -- and they are being sued these days. While
blaming "Nader acolytes" for much of it, Olson also properly points
out that restrictions on litigation that are common in other
countries, most notably "loser pays", are absent in the U.S., which
compounds the problem.
>From there Olson recounts cases that are now burned into our minds:
tobacco; gun manufacturers; breast implants; and asbestos all get
time in the limelight, with Olson providing background and insight
into each. In the tobacco case, for example, Olson documents the
outrageous fees the lawyers received -- over $8 billion for just
three states -- and shows how the settlement was structured so that
new companies or shifts in sales revenue won't undercut future
payouts from "Big Tobacco".
Olson goes further, identifying practices by lawyers such as Dickie
Scruggs, Peter Angelos, and Walter Umphrey that made them
millionaires, while companies, particularly foreign-owned ones,
cringe at the thought of being sued by them or the other "litigators
on horseback". These practices include choosing the jurisdiction for
a class-action suit very carefully; using jury selection to virtually
guarantee a huge damage award; and the particularly insidious
practice
of lawyers contributing very, very generously to the political
campaigns of the judges who will hear their future cases.
In just ten chapters, Olson provides a clear, compelling analysis of
class action litigation and the lawyers who press for it run amok. As
the subtitle implies, the situation has transformed the justice
system
into a "just us" system, with the lawyers having their way, and
undermining the rule of law in the U.S. Olson does a masterful job of
presenting the complexities of the legal system in straightforward,
nontechnical language. "The Rule of Lawyers" is a very important
book:
one to be read and shared with others.
Order "The Rule of Lawyers" at Laissez Faire Books:
http://www.free-market.net/rd/735321289.html, $17.95
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New and notable
o "Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie: Practical Mind Control Protection
for Paranoids," by Lyle Zapato
"Paranoia isn't mental illness, it's proactive policy," writes Zapato
in this hilarious how-to manual published by Paladin Press. A great
gift book for conspiracy theorists, black helicopter chasers, and the
perpetually paranoid who also have a good sense of humor.
Order "Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie" at Amazon.com:
http://www.free-market.net/rd/663820286.html, $10.36
o "Voucher Wars," by Clint Bolick
An engaging, honest look at Bolick's battle for school choice, from
Milwaukee in the 1990s to the 2002 Supreme Court decision that
affirmed the legality of vouchers being used for religious schools.
Personal details make the story even more compelling.
Order "Voucher Wars" at Amazon.com:
http://www.free-market.net/rd/684771279.html, $9.60
o "All Anybody Needs to Know about Independent Contracting", by
Shelly Waxman
A very helpful book for those seeking greater economic and personal
freedom from the state. Waxman shows how many employees can become
independent contractors, which offers tax benefits and financial
responsibility for most individuals. Lots of forms, questionnaires,
and the like to help employers and individuals make the shift.
Order "All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting" at
Amazon.com:
http://www.free-market.net/rd/740291601.html, $21.95
Keep doing freedom,
Sunni Maravillosa
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