clowns among us

Just once I would like to hear an attorney say to a prospective client “nope, sorry cannot help you.” Why would that be a good thing with so many un-represented clients with legitimate matters out there, you ask? Because then some of those same underrepresented folks could get an attorney to represent them. Its supply and demand, after all. Maybe if more attorneys turned away the case that, although within the bounds of the law, is CLEARLY outside the bounds of decency, then those litigants who are deserving might have a chance to obtain counsel, not to mention the resultant fewer outrageous claims in the newspapers, etc. Or perhaps the litigious clowns who sue for a hot coffee spilling, or a little league parent who sued because her son was clumsy and forgot how to slide properly, or the Dartmouth professor who sued her students in a “French Narrative Theory” class for arguing with her, would get just a little perspective and would stop clogging our courts with garbage. Everyone has probably read about the administrative law judge who sued a local drycleaner for losing a pair of his pants. Ridiculous you say? Oh contraire, he sued them for 67 million, having lowered that to a “more reasonable” 54 million just prior to trial. He turned down an offer to settle of $12,000 in a case involving a 1000 dollar suit. Needless to say, he did not get reappointed as an administrative law judge, for which HE IS SUING THE GOVT for not reappointing him. How would you like to appear before this guy?
I do not understand, as an attorney, how a firm or lawyer could with a straight face take on a case of such little import as one of these notable examples. Parents suing the National Honor Society because their son did not qualify. His gpa was off by .1 and the parents sued, claiming that they had not taken into account some extra credit work the student had done. Maybe if he had worked just a little harder, you say. No, it’s becoming alarmingly apparent that people always want someone else to blame for their own mistakes or for life. Life, after all, has a few bumps in it for everyone. It takes a little wider perspective to understand that everyone has disappointments, things that don’t go as they plan, etc. Maybe if we all had a little more perspective, we could get along much easier.