The legal profession has never been slow in maintaining high employment levels for it's practitioners. In the past half century the traditional avenues of opportunity have been shrinking.
In the 1970's the introduction of no-fault divorce and the family court saw a lucrative form of litigation wither and die. The family court was a lawyer free zone - and it's implementation also saw the demise of an army of private investigators who gathered evidence with lurid pictures snapped through bedroom windows. Suddenly divorce became an accepted separation without it's previous social stigma.
Personal damages litigation also faded from the legal scene with the introduction of " Green slip " mandatory insurance cover. No motor vehicle could be registered without this universal protection of those injured in an accident. It became an automatic process without the need for legal representation.
And so a new avenue opened. Lawyers began to advertise for the first time - inviting clients to consider suing for any number of reasons on a " no win - no fee " basis.
It sounded tempting. The prospect of a fat settlement without the disadvantage of paying a lawyer should the case fail. Few thought it through and realised that in a failed case there was the prospect of the court awarding the other party's costs to the claimant - and that those costs could run into a huge sum of money.
Now the flavour of the month is disputing wills. It seems that we have entered the age of a new social concience and the wishes of the deceased may safely be challenged. To this end, we now seem to have a number of judges who delight in playing Santa Claus with someone else's money !
The legal fraternity were once known for their conservative outlook. The winds of change have blown away that musty image and todays " Legal Eagles " have joined the entrepeneurs in aggressively touting for business and constantly reinventing themselves.
Prospective litigants should remember one never changing adage - Buyer beware !
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