Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (40725)	9/6/2005 12:14:03 PM
From: Doughboy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Corruption? In Louisiana? I'm shocked, SHOCKED As a young lawyer, I once tried a case in central Louisiana and it was indescribably difficult to navigate the Louisiana legal system and network of cronies. We represented a big chemical company that spilled a toxic byproduct into the town lake which also served as the town's drinking water. We were lined up against the hometown plaintiffs lawyers in a tiny, picturesque town. We thought we had a good case (the chemical wasn't really all that toxic, and the amounts that were actually ingested were probably negligible). But we didn't know what we were in for. We lost motion after motion, case after case, and were staggered by the total illogic of the legal system (Louisiana is unique in that its law is based on the French civil law system.) Every Thursday night we would fly out from DC to Louisiana to argue a motion in front of the local yokel judge on Friday morning, and by Friday night we would return to DC with our tails between our asses. Losing all confidence in their $400/hr Washington lawyers, our client paid out something like $750 million to about 1500 of the town's residents. These were the plaintiffs who lived on the lake, and, by the economic class structure of the town, were all white. (I later found out in the settlement records that 3 of our own local lawyers put in claims under the settlement and received money. Hello? Anyone ever hear of conflicts of interest?) When we went out for dinner with our lawyers (or sometimes with the opposing lawyers who represented the remaining (black) plaintiffs but were also white) they would habitually use the N-word to refer to this group of plaintiffs, without batting an eyelash. They didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with the word. The opposing lawyer who forged the big settlement flew out to Washington a few months later (in his private jet) and offered to "consult" with us (another obvious conflict). He spent 30 minutes, charged us $50,000, and gave us one piece of advice--switch our local lawyer to the judge's hunting buddy. We took that advice and, after that, we didn't lose a single motion or case. The judge would even invite us into his chambers before we would argue a motion so he could "set and chat" and (unethically) discuss what the motion was about. It was stunning. Eventually the opposing lawyers could see the momentum was now in our favor, and we settled with the remaining plaintiffs (the black residents) for a fraction of the other settlement. Postscript: The settlement was structured as a donation to the town, and from what I gathered from later events the money went to buying some land and attracting Walmart to open up a store in town. As far as I was concerned, this was like visiting two evils on the town, which actually was very quaint. Believe it or not, the judge, a gray haired middle aged man, along with our local lawyer were later reprimanded by the Supreme Court of Louisiana for pot-smoking while hanging out in their hunting blind. The judge was still reelected by a wide margin. The lawyers and whites all got paid handsomely, and the black plaintiffs got nothing except the Walmart. When this was all over, I felt so tainted by the experience that I contemplated turning myself in to the Bar and pleading for mercy. Doughboy.