Lerach
In his recent column (“Lerach Whacked and Sacked” Oct. 8), Michael Glueck appropriately castigates class action “strike suit” attorney William Lerach for giving kickbacks to clients. He also correctly points out the need for reform in assessing attorney fee awards in such cases.
His quote of Civil Justice Association of California President John Sullivan that Lerach’s plea is a “milestone in the plaintiff’s bar’s slide from a legal profession into a litigation industry,” however, misses the mark.
Any lawsuit, including a class-action claim, can be dismissed if it lacks merit. Demurrers, motions to strike and motions for summary judgment/adjudication can and are routinely filed to test the sufficiency of pleadings and the factual basis of claims.
Strict standards apply for class certification. Malicious prosecution and abuse of process are among the remedies for meritless claims.
The primary cause of litigation is and always has been wrongful conduct by a party causing harm to another party, through negligence, breach of contract, intentional harm, etc.
Misuses of the civil justice system in this country can be best corrected by legislation mandating apprenticeships and mandatory specialty certifications for lawyers, similar to the medical profession.
William M. Crosby
Barnes, Crosby, FitzGerald & Zeman LLP
Irvine
Please pass on to Michael Glueck my compliments for his thoughts in his recent Viewpoint on William Lerach.
It’s about time someone exposed the rampant abuse to our legal system by greedy lawyers who have become masters at manipulating the system in the name of protecting the innocent for their own personal gain.
My appreciation to Mr. Glueck for his efforts to expose this dire national problem.
Steve Clark
Clark Investment Group
Wichita, Kan
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Ann Coulter
The beauty of our democracy is everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and freedom of expression.
You have to truly love this country when someone like Ann Coulter pops off like she did a week ago. Coulter’s comment about Jews being “perfected” by converting to Christianity makes her previous remarks about presidential candidate John Edwards seem tame.
Now that we know her deepest feelings about an entire race, I have the “perfect” Hanukkah gift for Coulter: a one-way ticket to Dachau. My hope is if she walks the grounds of the former Nazi killing field she might change her tune. Then, again, maybe not. Mark my words, her statement was no slip of the tongue. Coulter is a media hound who will say anything to get attention.
Denny Freidenrich
First Strategies LLC
Laguna Beach
