Norman,
The dire picture that you paint of the legal profession certainly has merit in the American system. When a passenger whose life is saved by a highly competent crew is then able to turn on same, sueing and winning millions for some vague psychological distress allegedly caused by the emergency? Well, that my friend, is an appalling travesty of any known or recognized form of civilized human behaviour, and a wincingly painful slap in the face to all of us in whose care the flying public depends upon. The implications of that precedent are apocalyptic. It is, however, altogether a subject that the Americans must urgently take up, for they have perplexingly allowed a great number of deficiently educated and morally bankrupt mercenaries to run amok, which if unchecked will in due course likely elevate the very financial, political and ethical fabric of their society to science-fiction status.
I most certainly do not, Sir, agree with your assessment of HoltCJ. I, for one, would have very little in the way of meaningful contribution to any lawyer's bulletin board. Seen in that light, I admire the honesty of his foray into the unknown and welcome his refreshingly educated commentary, viewing from the outside as it were, our somewhat fractious little community.
The interface between the law and aviation is an extremely complicated one, and little understood, I suspect, by many of us. We would do well to make HoltCJ and others like him feel welcome in this forum.
If you are in fact still following this thread, HoltCJ, pass the Grizzly, bring some buddies, and come out swinging. Don't let me down.