At some point in the last 50 years the US has developed a significant subculture of lawyer-worship. It's not unusual to see commercials hourly on TV asking for people who might have suffered in one way or another to contact a law firm for a lawsuit. Lawyers find "little people" who have been wronged, sue in court, pocket millions, then go on to the next case. Effective lawyers make a killing at this business, and don't be mistaken: it is a business.
The little folks, seeing other people make all the bucks, aren't stupid. They look for ways in which they might have been wronged and contact lawyers. For many, "winning the lottery" and "having a big lawsuit" are the same thing -- a way to easy money. The lawyers are all too willing to play along, setting up mills where good cases are sorted from bad ones. They take part of the profits to advertise for more. It becomes a feedback loop, which is sad, because there are a lot of people who have been really wronged and need legal help.
What we need is tort reform, but every time somebody brings it up they're called either an apologist for big evil corporations or a heartless bastard who could care less for the downtrodden. So the cycle continues.
The commercials aren't there because people worship lawyers! I think most Americans aren't actually all that fond of lawyers. They're there because there is a lot of money at stake. When each new client can bring you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, you can afford to take out TV ads.
It's the same reason "mesothelioma" was the most expensive keyword on Google.
"Mesothelioma" is a lucrative keyword because anyone who has mesothelioma has most likely been grievously injured by some commercial entity. I'm sure there's lots of scams revolving around it, but it's hard to imagine a clearer-cut justification for suing a company than that company negligently giving you terminal cancer.
These two parent comments --- unintentionally, I'm confident --- give the impression that "mesothelioma" is a get-rich-quick scheme for plaintiffs. But if a plaintiff actually has mesothelioma, I don't think it's anything to snark about.
I happen to think the conduct of the asbestos industry is a strong argument for a corporate death penalty. And executives who knowingly exposed workers to dangerous materials should be in jail.
My point was that legal ads are prominent because there is a lot of money at stake, not because everybody loves lawyers.
Don't apologize; I'm not taking you to task. And sure, there's a lot of ads because there's a lot of money at stake. But that's also in some ways a good thing: it ensures that everyone harmed by (say) asbestos is aware that there are remedies available to them.
The little folks, seeing other people make all the bucks, aren't stupid. They look for ways in which they might have been wronged and contact lawyers. For many, "winning the lottery" and "having a big lawsuit" are the same thing -- a way to easy money. The lawyers are all too willing to play along, setting up mills where good cases are sorted from bad ones. They take part of the profits to advertise for more. It becomes a feedback loop, which is sad, because there are a lot of people who have been really wronged and need legal help.
What we need is tort reform, but every time somebody brings it up they're called either an apologist for big evil corporations or a heartless bastard who could care less for the downtrodden. So the cycle continues.