Buena Vista, Colo. — In a recent opinion piece, Mark Hillman criticized Colorado attorneys for prioritizing lawsuits over alternative dispute resolutions, suggesting that lawyers too often take a considerable share, often around 45%, of the settlements from their clients. Hillman holds the view that resorting to litigation should be a last option, advocating instead for direct negotiation and problem-solving between conflicting parties.
Historically, attorney critiques are far from being novel. Echoes of this disdain could be traced back to at least 1590 with Shakespeare’s “Henry VI”, where amidst a rowdy scene, the character Dick the Butcher suggests that killing all lawyers could pave the way for easier societal reforms. This notorious line, often misinterpreted as a rallying cry against lawyers, was instead highlighted by Justice John Paul Stevens in 1985 as a narrative on the importance of lawyers in safeguarding democracy.
Hillman, director of the Colorado Civil Justice League (CCJL), propounds that employees and homeowners should first attempt resolution through direct communication or simple legal notices without lawyer involvement. He therein describes a utopia where mere notification to an employer or a direct deal with a contractor remedies issues effectively.
Contrary to this idealistic view, the CCJL, a lobbying entity, principally serves corporate interests aimed at curtailing lawsuits — an effort they describe as “tort reform,” though critics argue it leans more towards protecting corporate earnings than promoting justice. The organization asserts through its platform the necessity to “play defense” against lawsuits to shield businesses.
Nevertheless, legal professionals in rural areas of Colorado present a different narrative. These attorneys, often away from the urban billboard clutter, engross themselves in community service rather than litigation profit. Representing both employers and employees, or contractors and homeowners, they usually engage in legal actions only after all preliminary conciliation attempts fail.
The alarm in Colorado, however, resonates not from an overabundance of lawsuits but from an undersupply of legal services. According to the American Bar Association, a legal desert is an area with fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. Unfortunately, 45% of Colorado’s counties fall under this category, meeting the criteria of a legal desert, as reported by the Colorado Access to Justice Commission.
This shortage implicates a broader concern that the push by groups like the CCJL to limit lawsuits might reduce the public’s access to the judicial system, especially in regions already underserved by the legal industry.
As these debates unfold, the continued dialogue on the role of lawyers and the portrayal of their practices underline an ongoing struggle between expanding corporate protections and ensuring adequate legal representation across all communities in Colorado.
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