Why Do Lawyers Have Such A Bad Image

Because of things like a $67 Million law suit (reduced to only $54 Million) over a pair of pants. In Today's Featured Article of the OpinionJournal of the Wall Street Journal, WALTER OLSON's article titled The Great American Pants Suit is a sad commentary of the Legal Profession. I am sure that this suit will provide further proof to the general public of the very things they don't like about attorneys. This view is further enhanced by a legal system which did not dismiss the whole case before it got this far. We have become a country "suit happy" because of the Political Correctness of our Courts.

"It all began two years ago when Mr. [Roy] Pearson walked into Custom Cleaners, a Northeast D.C. establishment owned by Jin Chung, Soo Chung and Ki Chung. He laid down $10.50 to have a pair of pants altered. The results dissatisfied him: The job wasn't finished on time, and he says the pants he was given were someone else's, which the Chungs deny. He demanded $1,150 for a new suit; the Chungs demurred. So it was off to court, with the claimed damages subject to alterations, in an expansive direction."

Read the article to see the creative mathematics Mr. Pearson developed to raise his suit to the ridiculous $67 Million amount. The verdict in this case is due this week. Hopefully common sense will provide a solution to this problem because the defendants have already made a generous offer.

"The Chungs offered Pearson $12,000, which he turned down."

However I believe there is another disgrace exposed by this case - abuse of power. The plaintiff is attorney Roy Pearson, who is an Administrative Law Judge in Washington, D.C. So we not only have another Lawyer, but also a Judge tarnishing the image of the legal profession.

So if you're a member of the Bar, I would suggest you clean-up your house before you complain or take offense to attorney/lawyer jokes. General public considers this whole mess a joke.

Is it any wonder that Jokes like this (and the following) are repeated about the Legal Profession - "By the Way Did You Know there are only 3 Lawyer Jokes - All The Rest Are True Stories."