Justice in the USA

Justice in the USA

Let me start my story with a little scene from everyday life in the United States:

Bob and Leslie are lovely.

We met a few months ago with mutual friends, and since then we see each other regularly.

One fine day, a cool spring Sunday, I was invited to sail on the small sailboat they have owned for several years.

Picnic and good red wine under my arm, so I go to the place indicated and meet them at the port.

We are several, it's very nice. At the foot of the ladder, Bob stops and pulls out a whole bunch of sheets, hands one out to each guest and asks us to sign it before getting on the boat.

 

It is a document on which it is explained that in the event of an accident, Bob and Leslie will not be responsible and which is called liability waiver.

 

I am amazed at this lack of confidence.

 

It is only much later that I will learn that one of their best friends, having injured himself on the boat, brought them to trial which cost them all their savings.

 

This is how I first encountered the monster that is American justice and many of us do not understand this mentality.

 

The second shock comes when you are dealing with lawyers.

 

It is not that lawyers in France have an excellent image.

 

A SOFRES poll revealed a few years ago that the French placed their lawyer in the penultimate rank of the professionals they trust.

 

But the surprise in the United States is of another order

 

The essential difference is that the American lawyer is above all a businessman, while the lawyer in France is what is called an "auxiliary of justice".

 

This means that he participates in a public service for the good of all, justice.

 

This is well illustrated by the fact that during a hearing in a court in France, and in the absence of one of the judges, a lawyer may be called upon to complete the court.

 

Likewise, he wears a robe which distinguishes him and identifies him as an auxiliary of justice, and which is of the same module as that worn by a magistrate.

 

Also because of this conception, the French lawyer is not subject to the rules of traders, he cannot form a commercial company or advertise.

 

In theory, all of this exists in order to guarantee that the lawyer fulfills his mission of justice and does not turn into a legal dealer obeying private interests.

 

In the United States nothing like it.

 

The lawyer has no particular mission for the good of all.

 

He is not wearing the robe and appears before the judge in town costume.

 

In some courts, he even has a limited speaking time and when this has expired, this is indicated to him by a red lamp that lights up above the court.

 

His firm is a business like any other and he can advertise.

 

Lawyers in the US do this very commonly.

 

You have surely noticed it on the Internet, and in all possible and imaginable media, from the sign to the wooden bench in the street.

 

American firms are true profit-oriented companies that compete fiercely.

 

Large law firms can have up to 800 lawyers, own entire office towers and represent enormous financial power.

 

In comparison, the largest French firms have an average of around thirty lawyers and there are not many of them.

Most of them work alone or in small structures of three or four.

 

When you describe all these differences, I think you have to be careful not to be discouraged by a mentality that is so different from ours.

 

American lawyers seem formidable to us, and they are.

 

They are real actors and decision makers at all levels of the affairs of their country.

 

In this respect, French lawyers are often by comparison very timid, and unable to meet the efficiency needs of their clients.

 

The American lawyer has a huge role in American life out of necessity, because he fills the legal vacuum that exists in private law and especially in commercial law.

 

Because of this vacuum, everyone can hope to win a lawsuit because, in a very simplified way, everything is defensible.

 

In this void which leaves room for what we Europeans feel like a jungle, the lawyer is the only guide and guardian.

 

It is he who is essential to draft contracts and set up companies.

 

Only he can foresee all the legal actions to which you expose yourself in such or such activity.

 

In a way, you can only make money and be successful in America with a good lawyer by your side.

 

The lawyer has a weight and an influence which often puts him in a position of strength compared to his own clients in a lawsuit or a negotiation.