Realizing I could be stepping on some sensitive toes here and quite possibly stereotyping, I post this entry with caution. Oh, hell with it! Let's throw caution to the wind. Everybody's favorite whipping boy (or girl) is a lawyer. I mean, do people tell doctor jokes with the same enthusiasm as they do lawyer jokes? In fact, the best lawyer jokes I have ever heard came from lawyers. I won't go into a lot of detail about the disdain that many (maybe even most) Americans have for this profession. A lot of people dislike lawyers because the legal system is set up to give them a job. And, who do you have to deal with in the courtroom? A judge, who quite incidentally, happens to be a lawyer him or herself.

My late father left some land over in nearby Pensacola, FL to me and my two siblings. Unfortunately, his mistress declared the land should be legally hers because she was his common-law wife. After almost two years of fighting, our side eventually prevailed. But, not until lawyers on both sides got their pound of flesh. We had to sign paperwork that required the presence of our lawyer in Pensacola. Our first appointment to have this done was back in August of last year. He had some kind of family emergency and could not be present. Therefore, no signing of paperwork could take place. So, that was no problem. That sort of thing happens. We were rescheduled for October. I asked the secretary why the hell the wait for two months to sign documents that we were told wouldn't take over 10 minutes for all three of us to sign. She said Mr. XXX had other obligations that pushed this signing date back. Well, that really pissed me off. I said to have Mr. XXX call me when he got back to his office. Of course, I never heard from him. Our appointment in October was coming up and I called to make sure our lawyer was going to be there. Pensacola is over an hour's drive from our city. I didn't want to drive that far and find out he wasn't there. The secretary said she had been meaning to call me...Mr XXX had to fly to New York on that day on a matter. Now, I'm really pissed. I know it wasn't the secretary's fault. But, her nonchalant attitude irked me almost as much as the lawyer who didn't give a damn whether we got our money or not. Hell, he had already gotten his money. He didn't care. I told the secretary that to make one more appointment and Mr. XXX had better be there. No exceptions. I told her my next step would be to file a complaint with the American Bar Association in Pensacola. She realized I was serious now. Date was set for January 5, 2009. I was just too numb to even argue any longer. I told her Mr. XXX had best be there.

This past Monday, myself and my two siblings drove to Pensacola. We arrived at the office of the lawyer 15 minutes early. Mr. XXX was nowhere to be found. I was livid. I then asked her for directions to the local ABA office. It was at this time Mr. XXX walked in like nothing had happened. Congratulating us on the money, blah, blah. Of course, I wasn't going to let him off that easy. I blasted him right there in front of his secretary and a couple of clients. I'm not normally that abrasive. But, he deserved it.

Yesterday, I made a post about Ann Couter's freedom of speech and how NBC was usurping that right. Of course, if I had thought that through, I would have realized that as a private entity, NBC does not have to guarantee freedom of speech (or any right, I suppose) to Ann Coulter. Someone with the username of “kindledude” made the sarcastic comment “I love it when non-lawyers discuss the law. Always good for a laugh.” It was like he was saying, “Hey, look at me! I'm a lawyer and I know this stuff, you don't! And now I'm going to display my knowledge and what an ass I am all in one short post!” sigh....I know, I know. They are a necessary evil in one respect. And, I know not all lawyers are like the two I have mentioned. But, it sure as hell doesn't do anything to dissuade the perception myself and many others have of them. This has just not been a good week for me and lawyers. Maybe next week I'll feel differently.