why is so hard to find a good (reputable) lawyer

[nydr]

When I was this morning reading diariolibre.com I found out this article http://diariolibre.com/app/article.aspx?id=77923 which says that there's one lawyer per 273 habitants in DR. And I'm thinking among all this lawyer why is so fu****** hard to find a good and affordable one, almost everybody has an 'experience' with a lawyer, maybe there's something wrong in the colleges that are teaching the profession or the competition is so hard that they have to take all the clients they can in order to survive even though they know that they can't handle the case.
This morning I visited a new lawyer (well recommended, very fancy office, in a SD tower) to collect some money that somebody owes me, when I was down in the parking lot I rise my eyes to the sky and ask lord to help me get this money from this lawyer with no further complication...

[Rick Snyder]

Same article in English for the Spanish impaired.

Rick

[gringosabroso]

I speak & write from the perspective of someone who practiced law in Mass., USA, for @ 30 years:

1. education.
In effect most lawyers are Jr. College gradutes in USA terminology; a potential lawyer must gradutate from high school;
then, . . 2 years of legal education. What is a high school diploma worth in the DR?
2 DR lawyers have told me that DR law schools are reluctant to flunk out any students - PERIOD! Each flunked out student means 1 income stream to the school & the teachers [I hesitate to use the noun 'professor'] is lost! Naked financial self interest dictates that all students be kept on the proft treadmill, until?
He or she may pass [or pay] 1 day.

2. Bar examinations:
in each of the 50 American states, there is a mandatory bar exam; a student must pass the state's bar exam before she or he can earn a living as a lawyer; flunk rates? 40 - 20 - 10% - depending on the state;
the exam is usually 2 - 3 days; usually 1 or 2 months' preparation is required, after 4 years of college & 3 years of law school. Bar exams are administered anonymously & honestly. Correcting them? 1 - 2 - 4 month wait. Students can take the bar exam as many times as they wish, & can pay for. In the DR? Nothing;
I will never live to see a bar exam in La Republica!

3. Board of Bar Overseers:
in every American state I am aware of there is a state administratve agency, adminstered by & responsible to the supreme court of the specific state;
it recieves & ajudicates all complaints from clients , judges, police, & other lawyers against specifc lawyers; it renders decisions; the decisions are usually very honest & comptent; the Board has teeth, a lawyer may be fined, disbarred, for X years or for life. A disaapointed lawyer may appeal to the local supreme court.

My 2 cents worth?
It would not matter if there were such a Board in the DR; the process would be nearly totally corrupt from day 1! The wealthy & powerful lawyers - from the wealthy & powrful families - would pass the envelope - sin verguenza! 2 - 3 - 4 years would go by with no action; the case woul ultimately be dismissed.
The real soure of the DR - legal system - lawyers - judiciary problems?
The DR was not & is not fortunate enough to inherit the British Common Law! The USA & Canada were. The DR is simply another Hispanic culture, in this as in many other areas.To late to put this toothpaste back in this tube. I experienced Gringo's opinions, perhaps accutrate, but surely honest!