The Author – Background to the Book

Small Claims Court
I have attended the Small Claims Court on two occasions and was surprised at the casual approach. It reminded me of two neighbours arguing over the garden wall. On both occasions, I was asking the judge to make the defendant repay money that I had paid to him and for which his services had not been provided, or the goods I bought were faulty.

The hearings had remarkable similarities. They were very casual, and although I had brought with me the documents and evidence I needed to prove what I was saying, neither judge was interested in any of the evidence. In fact, when I handed it over, they completely ignored it. The hearing basically depended on who said what, and what words were used to say it.
The other striking thing was that no laws were referred to.

Circuit Court
I took a case in the Circuit Court over 20 years ago against an employer when I had been forced to leave my employment as a result of bullying by my supervisor.

This bullying experience gave me an insight into the practices of HR managers in that it is not unusual for a HR manager to maintain two files on employees to protect themselves from the right an employee has to view their personnel file. It also educated me on the negligence of employers.
It was this experience which gave me a real insight into the practices of lawyers when dealing with a client who has limited funds. This case settled for a minimum amount of compensation, when I had come to terms with the fact that lawyers have no interest in working for clients with minimum funds.
I went on to work in law firms for 20 years, and learned a great deal about the practices of lawyers when dealing with their clients. I didn’t target law firms as potential employers intentionally, it was a job and I needed an income. It was just where I ended up, although I have long suspected this was not just by chance.
I have a lot more then three things to say about law firms and their practices.

But for this information, I will say only this:

1. I do not believe that lawyers work in the best interest of their clients. I believe they work first and foremost in the best interest of themselves.

2. Lawyers get paid for solving problems. But they get paid a lot more for maintaining them.

3. Hourly billing has a lot to answer for.