Posted by Still Looking on 8/19/06

More | Report Post

If one only includes legal employment, then approximately
50% of licensed attorneys in the U.S. are unemployed as
lawyers. Of those perhaps half would like to practice law
but are either unable to secure associates positions or
establish viable practices. Now I believe one of the
great boons to the healthcare professions has been the
rise of health insurance in the latter half of the 20th
century, thus drastically reducing out of pocket expenses
for the American consumer. Realistically, would people
really spend money on the annual physical, when feeling
healthy, if it were not covered? I doubt it. A similar
situation is arising for dental insurance. The dental
profession was in serious decline about 20 years ago, but
the expansion of dental insurance has given the profession
a major boost. Same with optical insurance.

Now whenever the idea of legal insurance arises, it is
always immediately squashed. Unethical. Unnecessary.
With the out of pocket system now in place however, how
many people actually use lawyers. I would say very few
unless their situation is so dire, that they are forced
to. If legal insurance existed, people could consult a
general practitioner, every one to two years let's say.
The generalist would review his client's general
situation, i.e estate planning, real estate, areas of risk
or concern. For minor issues such as a simple will, the
generalist may prepare this themselves, for more complex
areas the matter could be referred to a specialist.
Eventually the generalist may want to specialize
themselves. The insurance wouldn't even have to offer
full coverage, it could have maximum annual benefits for
example and co-payments and deductibles. As long as the
public felt that they were going to get assistance and not
socked with a bill for $1000 for a half day's worth of
work, I think many more people would utilize attorneys.

Re: Would Legal Insurance boost employment?, 8/20/06, by rrr.

Solo Practice Chatboard

LATEST POSTS | BY TOPICS | SUBMIT A POST