Synopses & Reviews
Ask any American, and he or she will tell you our legal system is in crisis. We point to frivolous, greedy lawsuits brought by bickering citizens, an abuse of self-serving appeals, and clogged courtrooms as evidence. But amid all this public hand-wringing, who is actually responsible for our system's perceived failure?
In No Contest, Ralph Nader and Wesley Smith reveal that the true cause of our system's breakdown lies not with the ordinary citizens -- although we must assume responsibility for its reform -- but with wealthy, powerful corporations and their lawyers. With behind-the-scenes detail, human stories, and accurate statistics, the authors reveal how the pursuit of justice has been perverted by corporate lawyers into a struggle for power, influence, and profit.
In this groundbreaking expose, Nader and Smith uncover the appalling abuses of power and unethical practices of corporate lawyers across America. Then they give a commonsense, realistic vision of what the ordinary American can do about it. This is a book for all citizens who believe that legal justice should be protected as one of our most precious rights.
Synopsis
The legal rights of Americans are threatened as never before. In No Contest, Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith reveal how power lawyers--Kenneth Starr perhaps the most notorious among them--misuse and manipulate the law at the expense of fairness and equity. Nader and Smith document how corporate lawyers
File baseless lawsuits
Use court secrecy to their unfair advantage
Engage in billing fraud
Nader and Smith sound the warning that this system-wide abuse is eroding our basic legal rights, and propose a positive, commonsense vision of what should be done to reverse the corporate-inspired corruption of civil justice. Timely, incisive, and highly readable, this is a book for all citizens who believe that prompt access to justice is the backbone of democracy, and a precious right to be reclaimed.
About the Author
Ralph Nader, the nationally renowned consumer activist, works in Washington, D.C. Author and attorney Wesley J. Smith lives in Oakland, California. Together Nader and Smith are the authors of Winning the Insurance Game and Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety.