Professional malpractice, whether it's involving doctors or lawyers, is a hot topic in our increasingly litigious society. That's why this article in The Times-Tribune caught my eye. For those of you who inevitably won't click through to it, the article lays out a case for possible "municipal malpractice" in hiring 5 local lawyers with questionable qualifications to work on a bond issue. It turns out that "none is a member of either the National Association of Bond Lawyers or the Pennsylvania Association of Bond Lawyers."
Wait, it gets better. Some don't even practice in areas of finance and municipal law. Sure, there's at least one who does medical malpractice and personal injury. But where's the expertise in finance, municipal law and bond issues in particular? I especially liked this quote from the article: "Mr. Munchak conceded that hiring an attorney who does not have a background in finance to work on a municipal bond transaction doesn’t make sense." The real issue here is one of transparency and accountability, not finger-pointing.
This brings up the point as far as The Scranton Front Door Pages: is there a need for a new classification: scranton/municipal? That'd be the place for Scranton Lawyers Municipal Malpractice and Scranton Insurance Municipal Malpractice to promote themselves. While I invite local law firms who specialize in medical malpractice and insurance agencies who issue malpractice insurance for professionals to avail themselves of the service, I'm not sure I want to get involved with any municipal malpractice at all!
