TRIAL LAWYERS ... OUR NEW 4TH ESTATE?

Once upon a time, when the Kings, the Church, and the peasants made up the vast majority of society, we had three “estates”. Then a group of malcontents with a printing press came upon the scene … and "the press" was born. The press became the 4th “estate” that would help keep balance in society. Unfortunately, the press has become an extension of corporations whose interests are tied to those in power …

This is why I love trial lawyers, and why the vast majority of conservative market players don’t ...

Law firms are gearing up to go after the ethically-challenged firms who worked to undermine the integrity of our national economy. In the process, if the legal firms do this right, they will show that the sub-prime disaster is only a symptom of a larger disease that infected and undermined the logic of the market.

Now, I have no doubt that the big players – as we saw with the Savings & Loan disaster, and the Alan Greenspan supported LTCM bailout – will find loopholes and politicians to protect them. And the usual arrogant and reckless players, along with a few sacrificial lambs, might even face some kind of prosecution. But these cases will end with the usual wrist slap sentences (it pays to be white … collar criminals).

And I’m even prepared to watch as the CEOs - who watched as their companies walked into this financial mess - saunter away with unearned hundreds of millions of dollars. Shame is not a prelude to decent behavior when money is to be made (does anyone remember when performance and accountability were once linked to pay in Corporate America?). But make no mistake about it; trial lawyers will play a big part in bringing balance and integrity back into the market.

What will come out of the lawyers entering into the current economic melt-down you ask? In real simple terms, because the corporate-driven media has abandoned its watchdog position the lawyers pursuing the ethically challenged will help bring us, or help induce, the market “correction” that the politicians and the press will not.

If they get this right, they might well become the new Fourth Estate.

- Mark