{"id":4387,"date":"2004-05-20T17:42:07","date_gmt":"2004-05-20T21:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2004\/05\/20\/sue-dough-logic\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:58:45","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:58:45","slug":"sue-dough-logic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/05\/20\/sue-dough-logic\/","title":{"rendered":"Sue-Dough-Logic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a name=\"a1517\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-right: 0px\" dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Geneva,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size: x-small\">Defending lawyers is pretty low on our priority list.\u00a0 But, a recent piece at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlawyered.com\/\">Overlawyered.com<\/a> was just so unfair, that we\u00a0need to take our e-friend <strong>Walter Olson<\/strong> to task, and try to set the record straight. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">Walter might not be a lawyer, but his posting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlawyered.com\/archives\/001080.html\">Damage caps for me, but not for thee<\/a> (May 13, 2004)\u00a0proves he can parse words misleadingly with the best of them. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"> The effect, as was predictable,\u00a0is that\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cut-to-cure.blogspot.com\/2004_05_01_cut-to-cure_archive.html#108485269336882366\">others<\/a> are calling\u00a0lawyers hypocrites in a situation &#8212; the creation of Client Protection Funds paid for by lawyers &#8212; where the legal profession deserves\u00a0<em>at least a little praise<\/em> (along with some encouragement to do more). <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">After correctly noting that the organized bar seldom supports capping victim recovery fees, Walter reports (our emphasis):<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/frventalone.gif\" alt=\"fr ventalone\" \/> &#8220;It turns out, however, that <strong>the bar enthusiastically supports the capping<\/strong> in nearly every state of one particular form of compensation, namely, the <strong>compensation of clients <\/strong>who are embezzled from or otherwise defrauded by their lawyers. In Pennsylvania, for example, the official <a href=\"http:\/\/www.palawfund.com\/\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;color: skyblue;font-size: x-small\">Pennsylvania Lawyer Fund for Client Security<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"> (<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.palawfund.com\/ops.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;color: skyblue;font-size: x-small\">more<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">) caps damages payable to defrauded clients at $75,000, although the loss actually sustained by the victimized client often runs far higher than that.\u00a0\u00a0 Columnist Don Spatz of the Reading, Pa. Eagle notices the irony: &#8220;Even if you can prove your lawyer stole $200,000 from you, you&#8217;re out of luck. There&#8217;s a cap. &#8230; I haven&#8217;t heard lawyers worry about caps taking away those victims&#8217; rights.&#8221; (&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\/about_halt\/in_the_news\/2004\/reading_eagle_march_24_2004.php\"><span style=\"color: black\">First, lawyer, heal thyself<\/span><\/a>&#8220;, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.readingeagle.com\/\"><span style=\"color: skyblue\">Reading Eagle<\/span><\/a>, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;color: #003366;font-size: x-small\">Mar. 24<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">, 2004, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\/about_halt\/in_the_news\/2004\/reading_eagle_march_24_2004.php\">at HALT<\/a> site).<\/span>&#8220;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">Walter goes on to (sort of) &#8220;explain&#8221; and then dismiss the legal profession&#8217;s position:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">&#8220;<span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">In a number of states, it should be noted, lawyers impose an effective cap of zero on this particular kind of claim, by the simple method of not having established any collective client protection scheme at all. And there is a certain very plausible logic to that position: why after all should rank and file attorneys be asked to clean up the messes left by their errant brethren? Is a lawyer his brother&#8217;s keeper?\u00a0 <strong>It&#8217;s just that this argument would sit better were the leaders of the bar not constantly denouncing the medical profession for its alleged failure to police itself<\/strong>.<\/span>&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/noyabutsSN.gif\" alt=\"noYabutsSN\" \/> If you didn&#8217;t already know what kind of fund and claims Walter is talking about, you&#8217;d be very likely to <strong><em>incorrectly<\/em> conclude<\/strong> (like the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fightingdocs.com\/cgi-bin\/docs_information.pl?choice=full_story;id=21\"><em>fighting docs<\/em> did<\/a> when reading the original <em>Reading Eagle<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\/about_halt\/in_the_news\/2004\/reading_eagle_march_24_2004.php\">column<\/a>) that lawyers had supported and states had imposed limits on the amounts that injured legal clients could receive in malpractice claims or litigation against their lawyers.\u00a0 That&#8217;s not <em>at all<\/em> what is happening.\u00a0 Walter is referring to lawyer <strong>Funds for Client Protection<\/strong> (or Client Security).\u00a0 You should know:<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<ol><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><\/p>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/files\/2006\/01\/tinyRedCheck.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11077\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/files\/2006\/01\/tinyRedCheck.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"18\" height=\"15\" \/><\/a> Client Protection funds in no way limit the amount of money a client injured by a lawyer can receive through the courts or from malpractice insurance.\u00a0 As the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nylawfund.org\/faq.shtml\">NY Fund&#8217;s FAQ page<\/a> explains: &#8220;The Lawyers&#8217; Fund is a remedy for law clients who have been injured [by the dishonest conduct of a lawyer] but cannot get reimbursement from the lawyer who caused the loss, or from insurance or other sources.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">The funds are financed <strong>totally from lawyer contributions<\/strong> (not a penny of taxpayer money).\u00a0 In New York, for example, 20% of the registration fee paid by each member of the bar goes into the fund.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><strong>Typical losses<\/strong> covered include the theft of money from estates of dead clients; escrow funds in real property closing; settlements in personal injury actions; and money embezzled from clients in investment transactions. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/tinycheck.gif\" alt=\"tiny check\" \/> The funds\u00a0have <strong>limitations<\/strong> on how much each client can be reimbursed, because there is\u00a0a <strong>finite\u00a0amount of\u00a0money in each fund,<\/strong> and it would be unfair to have clients with the largest losses (often those with the largest estates or investments) receive payments that empty the fund, leaving nothing for other victims.\u00a0 The limits differ in the various states.\u00a0 As Walter Olson noted, it is $75,000 per client in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 In New York, the fund Trustees (who receive no pay for their work) may grant\u00a0&#8220;up to a maximum of $300,000 for each client loss.&#8221;\u00a0 Such amounts are far from meaningless for clients who otherwise would be uncompensated.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nylawyer.com\/news\/04\/04\/041304a.html\">For 2003<\/a>, New York paid out almost $2 million dollars from its Fund, which has awarded about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nylawfund.org\/faq.shtml\">$100 million<\/a> in total since 1982. <\/span><\/li>\n<li>In a medical malpractice case, or other tort matter, it is the defendant who has been found liable who is asked to pay the victim.\u00a0 Here, by definition, it is not the &#8220;guilty&#8221; lawyer, but all lawyers who are paying the victim.\u00a0 That seems to me to be a <em>very big<\/em> distinction.<\/li>\n<p><\/span><\/ol>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">You can learn more about Client Protection Funds in your particular state, by going to this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncpo.org\/usmap.htm\">state map<\/a> provided by the The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncpo.org\/\">National Client Protection Organization<\/a>.\u00a0 <span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">The ABA, which has a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abanet.org\/cpr\/client.html\">Client Protection homepage<\/a>,\u00a0has promulgated <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abanet.org\/cpr\/clientpro\/contents.html\">Model Rules<\/a> for Client Protection Funds, and did a major <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abanet.org\/cpr\/clientpro\/slfcp\/toc_99-01.html\">survey<\/a> of such funds in 2002. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">This weblog has featured many postings on the inadequacies of the legal\u00a0profession&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/stories\/storyReader$40\">discipline system<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Much more money should be used to monitor unethical behavior and discipline needs to be both more swift and more strict.\u00a0(See this <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/stories\/storyReader$71\">op\/ed<\/a> by the Editor)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nonetheless,\u00a0we have seen <em>no<\/em> indication that lawyers are worse at policing themselves than are medical doctors. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"> <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"> We also agree with the general proposition from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\/the_legal_reformer\/pdf\/tlr2000fall.pdf#HALT_Names_its_Dirty_Half-Dozen\">HALT<\/a>, that client protection funds need to be better funded in many states. [see &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\/the_legal_reformer\/pdf\/tlr2000fall.pdf\">The Sham of Client Compensation Funds<\/a>&#8221; by HALT staff ATTORNEY, Steven Serdikoff (2000)<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">] However, it would make little sense &#8212; and neither Walter Olson nor HALT is suggesting, I hope\u00a0&#8212; that <em>every<\/em> lawyer be assessed whatever it takes to pay off <em>every<\/em> claim by a client hurt by another lawyer.\u00a0 Even Prof. Yabut and the departed <em>ethicalEsq<\/em> believe that only a small portion of\u00a0lawyers actually steal their clients&#8217; money or property. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><\/p>\n<li>A personal note:\u00a0 After spending his legal career working to protect consumers, children and the poor &#8212; with no complaint ever\u00a0made about me to a disciplinary board or a malpractice insurer &#8212; your Editor would feel rather oppressed if asked to write a blank check to the Client Protection Fund.\u00a0 That check would surely bounce.<\/li>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/ul>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\">Maybe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fightingdocs.com\/cgi-bin\/docs_information.pl?choice=full_story;id=21\">the fighting docs<\/a> or the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cut-to-cure.blogspot.com\/2004_05_01_cut-to-cure_archive.html#108485269336882366\">cut to cure<\/a> weblogging surgeon, who were so eager to believe the negative spin about client protection funds, \u00a0could let us know if the medical profession has anything analogous.\u00a0 I could not find any such programs when I searched the American Medical Association website, nor\u00a0on the AMA&#8217;s <span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ama-assn.org\/ama\/pub\/category\/3158.html\">Information for Patients<\/a> webpage, or its page explaining how patients <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ama-assn.org\/ama\/pub\/category\/3158.html\">benefit<\/a> when\u00a0their doctor is an AMA member. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/ethicalesq\/profyabutsmallflip.jpg\" alt=\"prof yabut small flip\" \/> Around here, distorting facts &#8212; by omission or commission &#8212; to score points for one side against another is frowned upon (despite that <em>J.D<\/em>. degree on\u00a0our wall).\u00a0\u00a0 So is misleading pseudo-logic and guilt by association.\u00a0 Let us know if we ever seem to be doing it.\u00a0\u00a0 Once we find such shenanighans on a website, we start to wonder just what we can believe from that source.\u00a0 As we&#8217;ve told several teenagers: it&#8217;s easier to earn trust than to re-earn it.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: red\"><strong><em>Update<\/em><\/strong> (05-21-04)<\/span>:\u00a0 <span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><strong>Walter Olson<\/strong> has filed\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlawyered.com\/archives\/001080.html\">a response<\/a> to\u00a0this\u00a0posting, which\u00a0he appended to his original piece.\u00a0 I recommend taking a look at his full response, which fills in some of the very important details that we wish were in his first posting, and also challenges some of our arguments.\u00a0 Due to\u00a0its length, look <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/stories\/storyReader$1532\">inside<\/a> for our cogent reply. <\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"color: red\"><em><strong>Update<\/strong><\/em> (05-22-04)<\/span>: <a href=\"http:\/\/cut-to-cure.blogspot.com\/2004_05_01_cut-to-cure_archive.html#108523667753135016\">Cut and Cure<\/a> has posted a Reply.\u00a0 You can find it, along with our response <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/stories\/storyReader$1532\">here<\/a>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;font-size: x-small\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defending lawyers is pretty low on our priority list.\u00a0 But, a recent piece at Overlawyered.com was just so unfair, that we\u00a0need to take our e-friend Walter Olson to task, and try to set the record straight. Walter might not be a lawyer, but his posting Damage caps for me, but not for thee (May 13, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-18L","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4387"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13813,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4387\/revisions\/13813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}