Lawyers' ads on TV

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Ed Mashburn

Member
Good evening to all- I don't watch much television. we turn on the tube when we eat breakfast and supper- for the news and weather. Other than that, the TV stays off.
Anyway, is anyone else displeased with the number and nature of television injury lawyers commercials? These are some of the most insulting and simple-minded bits of mouth noise I've ever witnessed. If some of these fools are no better at jurisprudence than they are on their commercials, then they are pitiful lawyers indeed.
I'd hate to think that any legal case I had before a judge or jury would be handled by one of these guys.
Just wondering-
good evening to all- Ed
 

Funny, I was thinking if I had a personal injury I might hire one of them!! The last one I hired on my own sucked.
 

TV is becoming a real wasteland. Between the Lawyer and prescription drug ads...and the Lawyer ads for class action lawsuits against the drugs that are killing people, It's almost impossible to watch TV without getting aggravated.
 
The ABSOLUTE most important button on the remote is the one labeled "MUTE".

We enjoy old movies and a very few other shows. The old movies are on TCM and GetTV. Some of them date back to the 1920s. Never a remake.
 
Allowing lawyers to run commercials was a very bad thing. The gates of Hell were thrust wide open by Bates v. State Bar of

Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), in which the Court upheld the right of lawyers to advertise their services. Link.

Since then, it seems that every aspect of life in U.S. society has been adversely affected. :shrug:
 
Debby said:
Just out of curiosity, why is it worse for lawyers to advertise on tv then other industries?
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In my view: Lawyers that generate a living through encouraging the pursuit of civil lawsuits(torts) have the general effect of increasing the cost of virtually every thing, and every service. Every business, every public agency has a "civil liability" department that examines every action(or proposed action) that the organization takes, often mandating 'corrective' measures to reduce exposure to litigation, thus-effectively making the 'legal department' the invisible leadership of the organization.

A couple related concepts:

Compensation culture
"Compensation culture" is a pejorative term used to imply that, within a society, a significant number of claims for compensation for torts are unjustified, frivolous, or fraudulent, and that those who seek compensation should be criticised.[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][2][/SUP][SUP][3][/SUP] It is used to describe a "where there's blame, there's a claim" culture of litigiousness in which compensation is routinely and improperly sought without being based on the application of legal principles such as duty of care, negligence, or causation.[SUP][4][/SUP] Ronald Walker QC defines it as "an ethos [which believes that] all misfortunes short of an Act of God are probably someone else's fault, and that the suffering should be relieved, or at any rate marked, by the receipt of a sum of money."[SUP][5][/SUP]
The notion of a compensation culture has also been conflated with health and safety legislation and excessively risk-averse decisions taken by corporate bodies in an apparent effort to avoid the threat of litigation.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP][SUP][8][/SUP]
The phrase was coined in an article by Bernard Levin in London's The Times newspaper dated 17 December 1993.[SUP][9][/SUP] The article, largely a polemic against the welfare state, carried the sub-heading: "We may laugh at ludicrous court cases in America, but the compensation culture began in Britain and is costing us dear."[SUP][10][/SUP]
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Ambulance chasing(or barratry)
Spill some coffee on your lap? Suspect your morbid obesity is someone else's fault? Want a Frivolous Lawsuit and want it now? The Ambulance Chaser is your man! This opportunistic and morally unscrupulous lawyer can usually be found representing the plaintiff in trumped-up junk lawsuits and perpetrating Courtroom Antics. He will find the right doctors, extract the right testimony, and badger the right witnesses to make sure you're compensated for whatever it was that may or may not have actually been done to you. That, or harass the defendant until he settles just to be rid of this annoying creature.
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A negative view, for sure...of course there are countless ways in which lawyers have improved society- here's an example: The Innocence Project

But then, they are not trolling the airwaves, trying to convince viewers that they might be "entitled to compensation" for the [insert alleged injury].
 
On the other hand, if I DO want to sue someone, I definitely want a lawyer who knows how to do it and has had lots of experience. I want a GREEDY lawyer because the more I get, the more HE gets. So far, I've never had to sue anyone and I hope I never have to, but if I do, I want what's coming to me.
 
Like them or not, the TV Ads must be paying off for the legal profession, particularly the big Class Action suits against the Pharmas for things like Xrelto Blood Thinners and other prescription drugs. And you wonder why some drugs cost so much.
 
jujube said:
On the other hand, if I DO want to sue someone, I definitely want a lawyer who knows how to do it and has had lots of experience. I want a GREEDY lawyer because the more I get, the more HE gets. So far, I've never had to sue anyone and I hope I never have to, but if I do, I want what's coming to me.
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Very good point, jujube. I agree. Everybody hates lawyers until they need one! I do object to the zillions of frivolous lawsuits, though.
 
Lon said:
Like them or not, the TV Ads must be paying off for the legal profession, particularly the big Class Action suits against the Pharmas for things like Xrelto Blood Thinners and other prescription drugs. And you wonder why some drugs cost so much.
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Exactly, and exactly.
 
jujube said:
On the other hand, if I DO want to sue someone, I definitely want a lawyer who knows how to do it and has had lots of experience. I want a GREEDY lawyer because the more I get, the more HE gets. So far, I've never had to sue anyone and I hope I never have to, but if I do, I want what's coming to me.
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A good lawyer is priceless, and with careful vetting can be found without too much pain.

Consumer Reports: How to find the right lawyer
 
I did hear a cute joke on one of James Sokolove's ads... Why don't sharks attack lawyers?

Professional courtesy. :eek:
 
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