In America, the cost of legal representation is so prohibitive, that most who belong to the working class can not afford to use the justice system even if they have a legitimate cause. To begin with, most cannot afford the lost earnings or the court costs either, even if the person could risk being laid off or fired due to absence from work to attend court. The fact that the majority of Americans, have from the start, been generally prevented by economics from using the justice system should provide the ultimate telltale evidence of the legal system's true purpose and function in society. Not surprisingly, that arrangement sounds better than it really is. It is now not uncommon for lawyers to receive more than the clients whom they represent.
Lawyers can end up with seventy cents out of every dollar awarded to their clients.
So the average citizen has a very slim chance of obtaining a lawyer to work on a contingency basis, if the case has plenty to do with the principles of justice, but little potential for a substantial financial damage award. However, when the potential damage awards are sizable, lawyers pop out of the woodwork in droves to take the case. Around the nation, an increasing number of physicians are now refusing to deliver babies in fear of the potential lawsuits that inevitably follow birth complications. Changes to tort law, that occurred in the sixties, opened the floodgate for malpractice suits in America, as a direct result of the substantial financial rewards for lawyers who succeed in cases against the deep pockets of drug companies and physicians themselves. Winning a big case, is equivalent to winning a lottery.