usmc4669
02-26-04, 05:21 PM
John Edwards: The Lawsuit Industry Puts Its Best Face Forward
A look at John Edwards's legal career provides a window into the flaws of the legal system that made this mill worker's son a multimillionaire.
by Stuart Taylor Jr.
....Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the charismatic personal-injury lawyer who would be president—or, perhaps, vice president —has done wonders for the image of the lawsuit industry. In more than a decade as his state's most talented trial lawyer, Edwards won an estimated $150 million in jury awards and settlements for powerless people who had been horribly injured by reckless and negligent (and, perhaps, not so negligent) corporations and doctors. He cared passionately for his clients, believed deeply in his cases, and was apparently untainted by the ethical sleaze exhibited by some of the lawyers who have so lavishly financed his campaign. And his extraordinary ability to connect with ordinary Americans works magic on the campaign trail as well as in the courtroom.
Edwards's autobiography, Four Trials, shows the tort system at its best, serving the indispensable functions of compensating injured victims and deterring dangerous conduct. But that's not all the book shows. And a preliminary look at Edwards's legal career provides a window into the faux-populist pretenses and other flaws of the system that made this millworker's son into a multimillionaire.[b]
[b]Read the rest of the story.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/taylor2004-02-25.htm
A look at John Edwards's legal career provides a window into the flaws of the legal system that made this mill worker's son a multimillionaire.
by Stuart Taylor Jr.
....Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the charismatic personal-injury lawyer who would be president—or, perhaps, vice president —has done wonders for the image of the lawsuit industry. In more than a decade as his state's most talented trial lawyer, Edwards won an estimated $150 million in jury awards and settlements for powerless people who had been horribly injured by reckless and negligent (and, perhaps, not so negligent) corporations and doctors. He cared passionately for his clients, believed deeply in his cases, and was apparently untainted by the ethical sleaze exhibited by some of the lawyers who have so lavishly financed his campaign. And his extraordinary ability to connect with ordinary Americans works magic on the campaign trail as well as in the courtroom.
Edwards's autobiography, Four Trials, shows the tort system at its best, serving the indispensable functions of compensating injured victims and deterring dangerous conduct. But that's not all the book shows. And a preliminary look at Edwards's legal career provides a window into the faux-populist pretenses and other flaws of the system that made this millworker's son into a multimillionaire.[b]
[b]Read the rest of the story.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/taylor2004-02-25.htm