Book Review
| Publication year | 1993 |
| Pages | 43 |
| Citation | Vol. 6 No. 5 Pg. 43 |
Lawyers and the American Dream[*]
Stuart Speiser, J.
Reviewed by Betsy L. Ross
It was Socrates who said the unexamined life is not worth living. I suppose at some point, however, the overly-examined life could prove wearisome. Nevertheless, I subjected myself, and now you, to Lawyers and the American Dream, a book that examines the role of the lawyer in society — more specifically, the role of the "Equalizer." (The movie version of the book will star Steven Seagal.)
The Equalizer, according to Speiser, author of this book, tort lawyer, and author of 43 volumes on law and economics, including the 1980 book Lawsuit, acts in our system of law to balance the scales of justice that might otherwise be weighted against underdogs.
Speiser first undertakes a definition of the "American dream" and then explains how lawyers can achieve it for themselves. His definition, peremptorily treated, includes the following elements:
1. A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL. Richer, happier. Wealth, material success, recognition. Loving and being loved. Owning your home.
2. ACHIEVING THIS ON YOUR OWN. Excellence. Self-made success. Individualism. Self-reliance. Self-initiative. Self-esteem. Drive for self-betterment. Education. Personal responsibility. Independence. Entrepreneurship. Hard work. Know-how. No reliance on help from government or institutions. Control of your own destiny.
3. HUMANITARIAN CONCERN FOR OTHERS. Doing well by doing good. Seeking the rainbow as well as the pot of gold.
4. FREEDOM FOR ALL. Freedom of choice. Freedom to do your best. Freedom from prejudice. Freedom from obstacles. Spirit of the Founding Fathers.
5. LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. Equality. Social justice. Equal justice under law.
6. OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL. Rags to riches. Empowerment of the weak and the underdog.
7. MELTING POT. Fulfilling the dreams of people from all parts of the globe.
8. HAPPY ENDING.
The epitome of Speiser's Equalizer is the tort lawyer (no self-congratulation going on here). While he considers other types of lawyers whom one might naturally recognize as at least doing good, e.g. civil rights lawyers and criminal defense lawyers, he distinguishes their activity from what he recognizes as the financially-oriented American dream because, in the former case, they typically are doing good for its own sake — not attaining the number one component of the American dream, and in the latter...
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