If class action law firms were really for the greater good of the purchaser of financial instruments we would have seen a lot more legislation put forth by them to prevent such fraud and abuse. But we have not. It would seem to me that every plaintiff lawyer should be required to put forth a briefing with regard to the case to the legislature as to how such abuse could have been prevented. It should be part of a lawyer’s responsibility to think in such terms of the greater good and strive for the greater good. It would also help shape a better society. For if a lawyers true role is not to serve the public why do we need them at all. There should be a greater effort to make the legal profession conform to the true spirit of the law and this country.
With regard to class action lawsuits against corporations, corporations were initially not allowed to be incorporated unless they showed a benefit to society. So therefore the burden of proven wrongdoing should not fall on the shareholder. At the very least a shareholder should bear no cost when initiating a class action style lawsuit against a corporation. Why? Because the spirit of the law as it relates to corporations should follow their initial origin- that they are meant to benefit the citizen.
There should be a government department whereby a shareholder can file a claim against a corporation and a public type defender takes the case from there. We have the Securities and Exchange department but they have not been able to effectively address the issue and no other government agency has been able to either. There needs to be separate and readily available free legal resources to address wrongdoers in this country and serve them with justice.
Barring that all corporations in the country should lose their corporate status until they can prove that they benefit the greater good. But what would happen when a corporation issued another product line and that product line was found to not be of benefit to the country? There should be absolutely no limited liability of corporate status. People should learn not to obey illegal orders. People should have to learn to think responsibly in terms of our society and the health of our planet. The only way to do that is to remove the limited liability. It would be a lot better world if we did! What kind of a world is it today? It is one whereby the few cumulatively ruin it for their own short term success and create a dark future for everyone.
And how about legislation that is based on public opinion and voted on rather than the special interest legalese we see today that serve to destroy rather than serve and protect.
Thomas Paul Murphy
Copyright 2012 Thomas Paul Murphy
Originally published on 02 26 2012 at: www.themilwaukeeandwisconsinnews.blogspot.com
PS the CPA exam was 25% when I took it and passed it in 1991.
PS the CPA exam was 25% when I took it and passed it in 1991.
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