BACK • 
Am I Wrong? Let Me Know.
On June 18, I wrote an article entitled "As the World Turns". The article I wrote spoke of the outcome of a class action lawsuit filed back in 1997. The lawsuit was on behalf of fans that were required to buy a full season of games on the Direct TV ticket satellite package. The suit was brought by two individuals, on behalf of everyone else to try to force the NFL to sell these games on a week-by-week basis, rather than force people to buy an entire season. Well, the two individuals won. They each received $1,000, and other subscribers will receive somewhere between $8.33 and $20.83, in individual payments. The article finished up by saying that the lawyers who engineered the lawsuit will get $3.7 MILLION.
Silly me, I saw that the disparity between $1,000 and $3.7 million, (3700%), to be a little out of whack. This observation I referred to as "what’s wrong with the world we live in", and it struck a nerve. However, when I received a letter that was filled with so much venom, hatred, errors and egotism, I felt it merited a response. Even though the person, who had these strong beliefs, didn’t even have the courage to enclose their name.
This letter was from an attorney. Apparently he or she was upset. First, the errors. The mystery writer accuses me of being "either an angry, ignorant man, or you have an ownership interest in Direct TV." Maybe this is the venomous part, too. You are incorrect. I have NO ownership in Direct TV, and I don’t consider my self angry and without trying to sound egotistical, the University of Wisconsin didn’t consider me ignorant.
Let’s talk about venom and hatred. In the mystery person’s letter, you referred to me and people in my profession, financial advisors, as "morons", and said that our "clientele has neither the sophistication nor the income found in professional like attorneys…" Maybe this is the egotism, too. Again, you speak of people in my line of business, "performing transactions that the ordinary layperson (or chimp, for that matter) now has the ability…" Do you think of your "clients" as "chimps"? I know I don’t.
Your statement, "...whomever you prey upon in attempting to make a living…" I ask you, do you know the definition of "prey". Let me help you. Webster’s defines "prey" as "to victimize or make profit at someone else’s expense." Do you want me to quote those figures from the beginning of this article, AGAIN?
Finally, the egotism. I shall list some of the quotes from the mystery person’s letter, and save the commentary for the end. "…our society has "haves" and "have-nots". Often the "have-nots" cannot accept that the "haves", have more. Get over it." "…you hate lawyers because they make more than you do." "…you should have gone back to school…you would have earned enough money to retire years ago." I don’t hate lawyers; good lawyers, that is. I have many friends that are lawyers. I also have many friends that earn more than me, and believe it or not, some that I earn more than them, but I don’t flaunt prosperity. That’s not right.
I saved the most disturbing comment for last. Mr. or Ms. Mystery Writer, you said in your letter, "Attorneys should not be used as scapegoats (like the Jews in Nazi Germany) for everything people feel is wrong with society. Shame on you." Shame on me? No, sir or madam, shame on YOU! I had relatives, who died in the holocaust, and I have many friends who had relatives die in the holocaust, and how you can compare the genocide of millions of people, with your perception that everyone hates all attorneys. That makes me sick!
The bottom line is this. I ask YOU THE READER, am I wrong? Or better yet, is the author of this unnamed, unsigned, letter right? Please let me know. I am serious, if you the readers feel that I am wrong about my having a problem with a 3700% disparity of what the lawyers made and what the "victims" made IN THIS CASE, I will write another article saying that I was wrong.
I do not fault lawyers for what they earn. Just like I do not fault actors or athletes for what they earn. It’s about what the market will bear. Do not tell me, that the lawyers were representing a victim, in this case, and hide behind truth, justice and "the little guy", and then make 3700 times what the "victim" got. There are many good lawyers in this country, and there are many good financial advisors, as well. Unfortunately, as we have seen in this space, now twice, a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch.
(Tom Butenhoff is a First Vice President with J. E. Liss and Company, Inc.
in Milwaukee. The views are his, and not necessarily those of Liss
Financial Services or the Job Connection/Hiring
Network.)