High taxes and onerous regulation are big parts of that story, but there’s something else that chases away big employers, too: California’s legal environment.
asserted
that → ’ → employers
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter
The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.
asserted
Sign → sign → California
The Golden State is a troubling example of what happens when workplace litigation becomes an industry unto itself.
asserted
litigation → happen → itself
In August alone, roughly 225 California workplace disputes reportedly settled for a combined $157 million.
uncertain
disputes → settle → million
Some of these cases undoubtedly involved workers who had been genuinely wronged and were entitled to compensation.
asserted
who → involve → compensation
But over the years, an enormous cottage industry has grown from workplace lawsuits and employment claims, in part because many employers acknowledge even claims with little merit can cost vast sums to defend.
uncertain
claims → grow → sums
Sometimes paying a settlement is cheaper than proving you did nothing wrong.
asserted
you → pay → nothing
Such litigation creates a dangerous incentive.
asserted
litigation → create → incentive
It raises questions that receive far less attention than the size of the settlements: What obligation does a lawyer have to determine not merely whether a workplace claim can be brought, but whether it should be?
uncertain
it → raise → obligation
When did being a good lawyer become primarily about what you can do rather than what you should do?
asserted
you → become → what
Law schools still teach ethics.
asserted
schools → teach → ethics
There are courses, professional codes and elaborate rules governing what attorneys may and may not do.
uncertain
attorneys → be → what
But rules are not morality, and somewhere along the way, too many have confused the two.
asserted
many → confuse → two
When a potential client walks into a lawyer’s office angry at a former employer, how often does the lawyer begin with the most important question: “What actually happened?”
asserted
What → walk → question
And how often does the conversation become: “What can we turn this into?”
asserted
we → become → this
An employee leaves angry.
asserted
employee → leave → ?
Maybe she didn’t receive the promotion she wanted.
asserted
she → receive → promotion
Maybe he was fired for poor performance.
asserted
he → fire → performance
Then a lawyer enters the picture.
asserted
lawyer → enter → picture
A workplace disagreement can become employer retaliation.
asserted
disagreement → become → ?
An offensive comment can become harassment — and a lawsuit.
asserted
comment → become → ?
Real harassment and discrimination exist.
asserted
harassment → exist → ?
People who have been mistreated are entitled to have their story heard.
asserted
story → mistreat → ?
That is precisely why dishonest claims should offend everyone.
uncertain
claims → offend → everyone
Every manufactured accusation diminishes a legitimate one.
asserted
accusation → manufacture → one
Every lawyer who knowingly stretches the truth makes it harder for the next person who walks through the door with a real injustice.
asserted
who → stretch → injustice
And the damage extends far beyond the courtroom: Businesses don’t have bottomless bank accounts.
asserted
Businesses → extend → accounts
Their revenue hires the next employee.
asserted
revenue → hire → employee
It pays for health insurance; it gives a young person an internship.
asserted
it → pay → internship
When that money disappears into unnecessary litigation, somebody pays: The honest, hardworking secretary who earned a bonus may never get it because the business had to pay a settlement instead; the employee who was never hired will never know why.
uncertain
who → disappear → settlement
The moral obligation to resist this temptation is biblical.
asserted
obligation → resist → temptation
Exodus 23:7 commands: “Keep far from a false charge.”
asserted
Exodus → command → charge
American history contains a remarkable example of a lawyer who understood this: In 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd in Boston, killing five colonists.
asserted
soldiers → contain → colonists
John Adams opposed British policies.
asserted
Adams → oppose → policies
The soldiers represented the government he opposed.
asserted
he → represent → government
But Adams did something extraordinary: Because he believed in due process, he defended the British soldiers.
asserted
he → do → soldiers
Adams chose justice.
asserted
Adams → choose → justice
He endured intense criticism and financial loss but later described his defense as one of the most “disinterested” actions of his life and one of the best services he ever rendered to his country.
asserted
he → endure → country
More than 250 years later, we remember him not because defending those soldiers was popular.
asserted
defending → remember → soldiers
We remember him because what he did was moral.
asserted
did → remember → what
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
