I agree on all counts. The referral fee clarification was aimed at the “in-house” in the post - not Loth. I happen to agree (shh…don’t let the rest of my profession hear) that contingency fees are a large part of what has contributed to the litigious nature of our society. Thus, I practice on the defense side…surprise, surprise.

I firmly believe that the practice of law is a noble and honorable pursuit. I am in fact married to an attorney and I hold her professionalism in the utmost regard.

That said, I observe sadly that both your profession and mine seem to have too many members whose level of professionalism is not deserving of much regard, and their numbers seem to be growing in my opinion.

Just for clarification, my little sarcastic rant wasn’t really directed at the concept of referral fees, but was rather in response to Loth’s statement…

“In fact, in this country, we are not allowed to charge fees which are a proportion of damages recovered. We charge for the work actually done on a time and line basis and the charges are subject to the scrutiny of an independent auditor if the client wishes.”

While I also have a problem with the referral fee idea, I was specifically ranting against the way many (most) plaintiff’s attorneys charge on a contingency fee basis.

You see their ads on television (another lack of professionalism in my opinion by the way) all the time with statements along the lines of “If you’ve been hurt call me and I’ll get you the money you deserve. Just one call, that’s all. You won’t be charged a cent unless we win!”

It is my opinion that this absolute lack of having anything to lose on the part of a potential plaintiff plays a big role in the existence of frivolous lawsuits.

I think that a system like Loth describes working under in Scotland sounds like a much more fair and reasonable system.

Guess that makes me (and Scotland) fascist.

Who knew?

Almost every time I ever have a discussion with lawyers in this country (U.S.) in which I suggest that the contingency based fee system should be abolished and replaced by the sort of sytem you describe working under in Scotland, I am met with histrionic outcries about how I want to strip people of their rights, how I just don’t understand anything about the legal system, how I must be an enemy of true justice, blah, blah, blah, etc.

Therefore, based upon what you have written, I can only conclude that Scotland must be a horrible oppressive place where people have no rights and justice is just a pipe-dream.

Surely they must have armed guards at the borders preventing people from escaping the country similar to the former Eastern Block nations.

It must be terrible for you to live there. I had no idea Scotland was so bad. You and your fellow countrymen have my deepest sympathies. Perhaps we should set up a Voice of America radio network to broadcast into your country.

By the way, I’m sure since you posted your description here on the internet, the jackbooted thugs who must surely be monitoring your connection will be kicking in your door any moment know. Please, run and hide while you still can!

(Please note the heavy sarcasm here in case it is not apparent enough.)