No Contest; Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America

New York: Random House, 1996. First Edition. First Printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 25 cm. xxviii, 427, [9] pages. Appendices. Notes. Index. Produced using acid-free paper. DJ slightly soiled. Bookplate with sentiment [For Justice Under Law] signed by the author (Ralph Nader) inside the from cover. Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. Nader attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He first came to prominence in 1965 with the publication of the best-selling book Unsafe at Any Speed, a highly influential critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers. Following the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, Nader led a group of volunteer law students—dubbed "Nader's Raiders"—in an investigation of the Federal Trade Commission, leading directly to that agency's overhaul and reform. In the 1970s, Nader leveraged his growing popularity to establish a number of advocacy and watchdog groups including the Public Interest Research Group, the Center for Auto Safety, and Public Citizen. Nader made four bids to become President of the United States, running with the Green Party in 1996 and 2000, the Reform Party in 2004, and as an independent in 2008. In each campaign, Nader said he sought to highlight underreported issues and a perceived need for electoral reform. Nader is the author or co-author of more than two dozen books and was the subject of a documentary film on his life and work, An Unreasonable Man, which debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. A searing indictment of lawyer-aided corporate abuse. Consumer activist Ralph Nader and lawyer and author Wesley J. Smith take a look behind the scenes of the law business, where the pursuit of corporate profit has eclipsed the pursuit of justice. Nader and Smith use human stories, accurate statistics, and common sense to provide an alternative set of reforms to open the system, streamline justice, and cut legal costs--all while guaranteeing Americans their day in court. The legal rights of Americans are threatened as never before. In No Contest, Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith reveal how power lawyers misuse and manipulate the law at the expense of fairness and equity. Nader and Smith document how corporate lawyers file baseless lawsuits, use court secrecy to their unfair advantage, and engage in billing fraud. Nader and Smith sound the warning that this system-wide abuse is eroding our basic legal rights, and propose a positive, commonsense vision of what should be done to reverse the corporate-inspired corruption of civil justice. Timely, incisive, and highly readable, this is a book for all citizens who believe that prompt access to justice is the backbone of democracy, and a precious right to be reclaimed.