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The same applies to every aspect of life that you are not an expert at. Can doctors be trusted? Salespeople? Do your research, ask for recommendations. There ar

by diego 18y ago

The same applies to every aspect of life that you are not an expert at. Can doctors be trusted? Salespeople? Do your research, ask for recommendations. There are people in every profession with good reputations. These people usually have little to gain from screwing you over as opposed to providing good service. Conversely, if you are happy with their service you will keep coming back to them in the future once you trust them.

Tichy 18y ago
Sure, but nothing else is so far removed from my daily experience. Even with doctors I would say that I can get quite far with my common sense. And doctors DO rip you off, as in recommend loads of useless treatments. Maybe they don't even mean bad, it is just a different perspective (it's not their money, it is yours - they can not make the judgment call of how much money to spend. As long as money is available, there is always something else that could be done). I am also not saying that lawyers in general screw you over. But it seems very hard to find a lawyer I could trust.
- dreish 18y ago
  That's remarkable. If a doctor told you your arteries were dangerously clogged and you urgently needed a bypass, you would trust your common sense, even though the doctor is telling you you could have a heart attack at any moment? But if a lawyer recommends lots of expensive services, you wouldn't have the common sense or the assertiveness to seek a second opinion? I didn't invent that heart-bypass example; it was a running scam exposed on 60 Minutes a few years ago. I've been a client to maybe five or six independent civil lawyers over the years, and they all did pretty much nothing more or less than what I asked for going in. I had a free consultation with a corporate criminal defense lawyer recently, not realizing she was a trial lawyer, so it would really only have been appropriate to meet with her had I been charged with something -- I was just looking for advice on how to avoid committing a corporate crime in a tricky situation. Not only did she listen to my story and not bill me for anything, she gave me the most cautious advice possible under the circumstances -- the advice least likely to cause me to need her paid services. (I've been happy with the doctors I've had over the years as well, for that matter. I once saw a dentist who seemed both incompetent and fraudulent, but I didn't go back.)
  - Tichy 18y ago
    First of all, as I repeatedly stated in this conversation, I don't want to knock down lawyers. It is just that I have the least knowledge about law, of all things, so the quality of lawyers is the hardest for me to judge. Also, are you denying that lawyers can get VERY expensive? Your bypass example: yes, as it happens I have repeatedly read that bypass operations are complete nonsene, and there is actually a business of doctors referring patients to each other. Of course if they tell you you are going to die in one minute, there is no time to research the internet about the suggested treatment, which I would normally do. With medicine I would do so - but with law, we have just learned that searching the internet is no good, because only a real lawyer should be trusted? I have also had encounters with nice lawyers, who gave me free advice over the phone. However, it also seems common that lawyers don't want to be upfront about the costs they will incur. Also, I am in Germany, things might the different here than in the states.

by diego 18y ago

Tichy 18y ago

Sure, but nothing else is so far removed from my daily experience. Even with doctors I would say that I can get quite far with my common sense. And doctors DO rip you off, as in recommend loads of useless treatments. Maybe they don't even mean bad, it is just a different perspective (it's not their money, it is yours - they can not make the judgment call of how much money to spend. As long as money is available, there is always something else that could be done). I am also not saying that lawyers in general screw you over. But it seems very hard to find a lawyer I could trust.

dreish 18y ago
That's remarkable. If a doctor told you your arteries were dangerously clogged and you urgently needed a bypass, you would trust your common sense, even though the doctor is telling you you could have a heart attack at any moment? But if a lawyer recommends lots of expensive services, you wouldn't have the common sense or the assertiveness to seek a second opinion? I didn't invent that heart-bypass example; it was a running scam exposed on 60 Minutes a few years ago. I've been a client to maybe five or six independent civil lawyers over the years, and they all did pretty much nothing more or less than what I asked for going in. I had a free consultation with a corporate criminal defense lawyer recently, not realizing she was a trial lawyer, so it would really only have been appropriate to meet with her had I been charged with something -- I was just looking for advice on how to avoid committing a corporate crime in a tricky situation. Not only did she listen to my story and not bill me for anything, she gave me the most cautious advice possible under the circumstances -- the advice least likely to cause me to need her paid services. (I've been happy with the doctors I've had over the years as well, for that matter. I once saw a dentist who seemed both incompetent and fraudulent, but I didn't go back.)
- Tichy 18y ago
  First of all, as I repeatedly stated in this conversation, I don't want to knock down lawyers. It is just that I have the least knowledge about law, of all things, so the quality of lawyers is the hardest for me to judge. Also, are you denying that lawyers can get VERY expensive? Your bypass example: yes, as it happens I have repeatedly read that bypass operations are complete nonsene, and there is actually a business of doctors referring patients to each other. Of course if they tell you you are going to die in one minute, there is no time to research the internet about the suggested treatment, which I would normally do. With medicine I would do so - but with law, we have just learned that searching the internet is no good, because only a real lawyer should be trusted? I have also had encounters with nice lawyers, who gave me free advice over the phone. However, it also seems common that lawyers don't want to be upfront about the costs they will incur. Also, I am in Germany, things might the different here than in the states.