News Scrapbook 1988

n O1ego, CA

sa t:n\nQ (Cir. D, 1

Diego Co,)

'

..n••"""''· SonO t

defend their much-maligned profession

a er come to the defense of profession Batt/ continue again t perception on thic , hone ty

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Apnl ,., ,...

, f he nat1'on 's 700,000 rise to

mercials is a contract clause that if the lawyer is fired ~fore set- ~J!ent the dissatisfied chent must a all iegal costs, well-spent or_ not. P Lawyers like Spital and Belli _say contingency fees make the pursu:~ ~f i·ustice available to everyone. lt s the poor man's _ticket to the court• But lawyers are regularly cas · gated as ambulance chasers for sometimes pursuing such. cases. After the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India, kille? . 2/>00 le Belli was harshly wtic1~ed peofor~illng 1a_wsU1_·ts in the U.S. cbelah1m,-f ing $la billion m amages of 21477 Indians. Under the stan ar. 30 percent contingency fee, Belli co~1::ir-~:i~~niawyers ask~d him to represent thei;n, n?t ~he vic- t"ms in US courts. ·1 d1dn t chase ~ow~ thos~. cases. We don't, c~ase down cases because we don t ave d d room " said Belli. ti d on a

momentous as he wishes it to be Legal reputations take t eir wo . lumps after lawyers lose cases, sca11~ ents "go away thinking 1 didn't get f fed l paid my lawyer a bunch : !~ney and I'm worse off than I perceived." h . rst Belli presents a different case, wm or..~~;ically, when a cas~ is through, people think they're entitled to ~er- lain rights beeause of the Constitu- And they're (angry) that they h1aovne. to pay a fee to a lawyer for what they think they ought o ge as a matter of right. They resen~ that it :~:'\=~!a~;~~}~:~~e~ 0 1 t· t t was before." . Hiring a lawyer is an expensive sition, especially when ra~es p po eed $200 an hour The median :~o:~ for lawyers is. $78,000, ac- cording to a 1986 Harvar~ L~w School survey. The 1986 median m- come for American workers, accord- ·1ng to the U.S. Labor department, ro Are lawyers in it only for money. "Not too many young l~wyers are concerning themselves wit~ protect- ing public interests, pracllc1~g lawd Fellmeth, who is also execullv_e rector of USD's Center for Public In- terestUw. "They te too busy worry- ·ing about whether t ey_ ,, . h 'll be able to t)' was $19,996. ? ~:d going to court." .

'

. .

sor Robert Fellmeth. In a co~me~- tarY to be published in the California

able Nonetheless, there s a pers1f file lawsuits. In his 1912 novel, T Fmanc1er" Theodore Dreiser said lawyers were "intellectual merce- naries to be bought and sold m any The United States is the mos. 11· gious nation m the world. ~;ncans sue at the drop of a hat. beeause the hat was dropped. . "Some litigation is a reflection o society" said David Marmon of the 1 f m Christian Lawyers of \oca rl ir "Some is motivated by cause." t rt'

tent. notion that lawyers live on~.Y h: Re ulatory Law Reporter, Fellm~th

g lains that some lawyers strive Marmon of Christian Lawy~rs. l·

e ~g- lne ent pie

corptoward plush offices, speaker· o~Jnes and assistants who do most of talking. These are the icons of a f wer is heightened The ,m~y~~ws what lawyers said Fellmeth. Lawyers . i so facto reductio speak m tongu~t p mostly "gratui- f are sarmg, ihe successful lawyer. .

•

ey sue when n?

ad absurdum. tous and sheer pre ens1

·on" Fellmeth

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said.

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an- ·"

Ame ca.

t"tion Most is

"A typical lawyer will

now

greed some by compe I

t

.

t 1 300 words with a special

.

.

ools how than I lp- 1uta· y,

~::i1:ys~!~;:z ~~!et:~~ihl~n

i:ri[:~~;~i~h~!.'~~~t· ~n::;p-~ ·n be totally unnecessary as ormal English word car- ti/~me message." ers like uffixes: substantiali- ty i:t~ad of substantial, for examd Former sportscaster Howar I F Umeth points out was con- I Lawyers use a O they need it vel non (or no . e~n this way ab initio, from inning. ''They talk that way a l~t of reasons," said Fellmeth, h th !~e f .. ht' t seems we1g 1er, ddmg a school bOO iron-clad, if . phrases are rekpere with dictionary dehnitions. For instance, a con ra item promises not mere~y tod~eli~- but to assign it, transfer it an t ct to sell an 11 ·t Fellmeth suggested an appendix at th end of most contracts could de- n:e terms and eliminate excess ver- b t "of course then the docu- Someone might get the idea th~t the ork of the attorney is not qwte as b" w~uld be easy more ated t a con rac It's I e pa 1-k po . . . er 1t as well. . sum~a e Cose was a lawyer . 1 t of Latin lked that way" ta . ·t· Legal Lawyers like repeh ion.eth ~~;d oxymoron Fellm ...... f · brie IS an

court.

only

1

People usually see a awyer when they've got a p~oblem, Marmon. Whether pl~mtiff or fendant, they'~ usp1~~:· yourself your money and maybe your prope . p e. .d wposed1 t . fYII'; . "When you re pu r'

MELVIl-,1

"h's a tric

_ion"

to" he said.

.

.

'Belli said his San FranclSCO firm receives more than 50 requests ~ach day from people seeking his serv1~es. Few lawyers can make that claim. Indeed, that is why so many lawyers advertise, said Fellmeth. Former Supreme Court Chief Jus- tice Warren E. Burger one~ blamed legal advertising for creatm_g such ublic distrust of the profess10~. _He ~aid some lawyers' advertising "would make a used-car salesman The· propr·1ety oflawyers adver IS· mg sparked heated debate l~ng fore the Supreme Court ruled it l_egal in 1977. The controversy c?ntmues today even though the American Bar ~iation estimates one-quar er o all lawyers advertise in some way.. Most lawyers advertise only in telephone directories. In 7f> pages r°1 the Pacific Bell Yellow Pages o{i San Diego, thousands ?f lawyers se their services with pictures of car crashes, grieving couples and studio portraits of themselves looking, well, . blush" t' be · t f

ty m the hands of some~y, and yo~ Cosel' t e at such verbal' overkill.

Lawy •rally mean

l1

don't know what's gomg o~ . . . ' 'ght make a person feel a little un- easy" Marmon sa1 . U~fortunately, said Bai e~, yers have beCOme a~ept ~ta:n~~t around the. truth: ~y er'" enough and it bee~!e:~:ymysteri• ·1 1 mi 'd

ba~ pie know that whatever thil to come, lawye walk awie end Case ,. "Woe unto yor1e lawyers, ays th Bible in 1:46, "for ye lade m n with bu(ICVOU to be bo nd ye y(;S touch not th m b~rd n w1U,f your Im• g y •~ no one cat lawyers of \oth. In 1966, lh\~00:a~:;: suits fi\ed m fee 254 828 wide ln 1986, 1ere_ ' .. Product-liability\ fi:;n 5\ 4 led ral courts J O ' 1985 from 1,600 ii,8WY rs stay bu y. 1 ts f "1 think a Ion have O ? (laurvers) and a work, th ey 11 ~, people and nvent new way . g t money for itla 1ledy i w~ose w~ Wors cl work bas d ==- en mg t~~apped h ir icia Hearst and Albert Dtthe Boston tranogdloe~bt mudon Is justifi· to

aw; w

.~~eluding the fact that prior lawyers without regard to money' . sadi1_

Whal lawyers ous to ordinary people, re alm of reasonable people. "It's a tricky pro ess1on be f ·

d the

yon

that deals

d Belli "People feel

with words " sai

·

h

BMW

rt make payments on t e1~

~er In sin 't appear •

t hat lawye~ aren't doing_ everyday f his legerde- ork that by reason o :am' he able to make a living." "One of the biggest pro ems IS that attorneys have allowed the pro- fession to beeome £Omewh~t myst!· cal by keeping themselves 10 , a posi- lion where the public d~n t t~r, understand the scope of their wor , said Samuel E. Spital. a loca_l lawyer best known for his non-mystical tele- ' bl · Too many lawyers equal~ mys~- cism with power and prestige, said University of San Diego law proles• w vision commercials.

Judging from television co

d

cials, many lawyersh overly concerned wit mo°:ey· cere tones, they solicit cllents w1 romises of free first-hour consul~- hons and no payment unless the ch· on .th. en~tl~tter is called a contingency fee With it, a lawyer agrees to take th~ case with no money up front, JUSl the prospect of reaping one-third or Whal isn't mentioned m the com-

Jab<>- )ad of there rchers

. - ----7 to understand. more of any monetary se~tlement.

ed

trustworthy.

. .

.

some

The sales pitch on telev1S1on. is more aggressive. In one commercial, a woman comes home shaken from an automobile accident. She st:11 fine but when her husband as I she's hurl - ping! - there goes her

a la:___:w•

neck.

San Diego, Calif. Southern Cross (Cir. W. 27,500) ~PR 29 1988

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._]lllerr's

P. c. B

1 ,. 1~88

t's one nswer u"t 1t er dilemma U w do, fend us m court?

OPENING NEW DOORS - Fath r Michael Kennedy, SJ, former pastor of Christ the King Church, San Diego, ad- dressed participants at "Connections," a conference for young adults held April 23 at the University of San Diego. Father Kennedy invited the group to open new doors by experiencing the world around them. The priest is now associate pastor at Queen of Angels par- ish In Los Angeles and works at a refugee resettlement house in L.A.

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COMMUNICATING - Christina Jimenez of St. Michae1 parish. Paradise Hills, listens to Marc Payne, right, of St. Brigid parish, Pacific Beach, as Eddie Goan of Santa Sophia, Spring Valley, observes as they work on Improving their communication skills during a

workshop at Connections, the San Diego diocesan young adult conference, April 23 at the University of San Diego. Father Daniel Dillabough, judicial vicar of the diocesan Tribunal, conducted the workshop on "Improving Important Relationships."

Young adults 'connect' at conference By Maureen Nuesca Southern Cro11

door by listening as he described the experiences of a 22-year-old Salvadoran man, who was beaten, poisoned and left to die in an El Salvador gully because he was a Christian. The young man now resides in and is receiving medical treatment at Casa Grande, a refugee resettlement house in Los Angeles where Father Kennedy works Father Kennedy urged the young adults to become followers of Jesus and open their lives to new experiences, rather • than being "Joe averages" whose daily existence has become a monotonous routme. Look at Jesus and see what type of man he is, said Father Kennedy, former pastor of Christ the King parish in San Diego. "He is not a plastic sissy. He is a man of strength, always challenging the status quo," he explained. He challenged the young adults to continue opening doors that reveal living conditions and expenences of other peoples. "Jesus said, 'The kingdom of God is near, open that door.' Ours is a world of re"sources in which we can help others," Father Kennedy said. If those gathered continued to open

doors, they would realize what a tiny world they live in, he explained. After the general assembly, participants attended two of seven workshops offered at the conference. Father Dan Dillabough, judicial vicar of the diocesan Marriage Tribunal, was among the speakers. His lecture, "Improving Important Relationships," focused on the importance of relationships and improving personal communication skills. Communication is integral to life, Father Dillabough said. He stressed the importance of using communication skills to improve relationships. Listening requires more than hearing, he noted. Posture, eye contact and environment are involved in listening, he said, adding that a person can clarify what has been said by asking open-ended questions. "Communication skills are crucial in improving relationships. Relationships say who we are and what we believe," he said. During her presentation, "Connecting with God in Prayer," Susan Stark, a retreat consultant for the San Diego diocese, stressed the development and

maintenance of a prayer life. "We each have restless hearts and a longing from within points us to the Spirit," Stark said. Developing a "life of the Spirit" conflicts with society because "praying is not materially productive and it does not hold any type of power or control over anyone," she noted. "Prayer is opening our hearts to the Spirit, staying in touch with the spiritual world, and listening to the spirit," Stark explained. A sign of prayer in one's life is the growth of virtues, she added. "Without prayer, we become paralyzed, deaf and blind, spiritually." Reflecting upon the day, conference participant John Thomas Sperrazzo said, "It was beautiful. The workshops were so rich. Connections, indeed, were made. I feel that prayer in my life is going in a better direction, thanks to Susan Stark's workshop."

ALCALA PARK The keynote speaker at this year's "Connections" young adult conference urged participants to continue opening doors to new experiences throughout their lives. "The day you don't open any new doors in life, you die inside. To be a human being means to open doors and be expanded into the real world," Jesuit Father Michael Kennedy, associate pastor of Queen of Angels parish in Los Angeles , told the 200 participants at the April 23 conference at the University of San Diego. Sponsored by the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries and the campus ministry programs at USD 1 the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University, the gathering's purpose is to "discover how we can become more connected: with each other, with ourselves, and with our God," according to a youth office spokesperson. At the opening assembly, Father Kennedy invited the group to open a new -

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