"Let's kill all the lawyers..."

[Fred Heutte]

Tim May and Phil Karn's comments remind me of my friend Mark the Lawyer
who lives in SF.  I visit him on occasion when I'm in the Bay Area and
notice that he has the proper perspective on things.  When I was there
a week ago he had a copy of the Nolo Press newspaper (including a hefty
selection of their vast catalogue of lawyer jokes).  And his refrigerator
magnet reads: "Lawyer: person retained to protect client from others of
profession."

We need lawyers, but do we need *so many*?!  I was born and grew up
in Washington, DC.  The DC Bar has over *50,000* lawyers!  Even in
our nation's capital that seems excessive.