This video post is from an old friend and attorney – Philip K. Howard. He discusses the powerful forces of the law and lays out ways that we can fix what all would agree is a broken system. The land of the free has become a legal minefield, says Philip K. Howard — especially for teachers and doctors, whose work has been paralyzed by fear of suits. The impact of the out-of-control legal system also impacts small business owners as well.
We love to laugh at America’s warning-label culture (the bag of airline peanuts that says: Caution: Contains Nuts). But more troubling are the everyday acts of silence and loss promoted by the fear of being sued. Your doctor might not speak to you frankly; your kids’ principal might not feel he has the right to remove bad teachers.
What’s the answer? A lawyer himself, Howard has four propositions for simplifying US law that he discusses in the video below. Click on the silver button below to begin this thoughtful 18 minute talk.
[button link=”http://www.ted.com/talks/philip_howard.html” color=”silver”]4 Ways to Fix a Broken Legal System[/button]
Philip founded the nonpartisan group Common Good to combat this culture and reform several key areas of our legal system. Among Common Good’s suggestions: specialized health care courts, which would give lower but smarter awards, and a project with the NYC Board of Ed and the Teachers Union to overhaul the disciplinary system in New York public schools.
He recently founded New Talk, with the mission to foster productive, nonpartisan discussion on even more tough issues — economics, health care, government. He is a partner with the law firm Covington & Burling LLP.
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