Quote:
Originally Posted by Ayatollahgondola
After two or so decades of dealing with kwikkee-mart owners from India, it's a relief to negotiate with garage sale low-ballers. Hashibabs are the most lowballing, persistent, repetitious, and unrewarding customers an American native business owner can have.
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That wasn't very PC. OK, if we're going to be bitching about the annoying conduct of certain ethnicities, let's move on to dealing with Arabs while practicing Law.
Firstly, I've never endured a hard word from an Arab. In fact, they've always been very respectful and polite to me. Many, many moons ago, when I was dating a middle eastern girl, her parents were nothing but friendly to me. Further, in my experience, most of them actively seek out the services of Jewish attorneys when they need representation.
What drives me around the bend when having to deal with them is that, the tradition/culture of bargaining is so ingrained into their way of life, that they treat almost everything as negotiable and assume you're not telling them the entire truth, but instead are maneuvering for bargaining power.
I have a very specific memory of a middle-aged Afghani woman who was accused of having stolen money out of her employer's house. When I asked her if she had any priors, she lied (For what possible reason? Am I not going to find out?) She said two, it was a total of seven. The chief evidence against her was a confession she gave, and the explanation she gave me for having said those things was simply preposterous. Long story short, she got offered 7 months jail by the DA which, given her record, was an absolute gift. I advised her to take it. She asked me how much it would cost to go to trial. I quoted her my firm's price but told her not to spend the money b/c I knew we'd lose and a judge would give her at least 16 months in prison, maybe two years. She obviously thought I was holding out for more money, and asked,
If I pay you (two thousand more than the price I quoted her), you will take my case for trial? I advised her that I wasn't trying to run up the price on her, but that my genuine evaluation of her situation was that she'd be convicted, regardless of what arguments an attorney made. She nodded as though she understood, and promptly offered me an additional three thousand, asking if this would be enough.
This stupidity went on for almost 20 minutes.
Move ahead in time to this week. A nice woman for whom I had worked out a plea bargain on a shoplifting case in Bakersfield, several months ago, calls me frantically. It was over 20 calls in one evening. When I respond, she tells me she must appear in court the very next day to show the judge she completed her community service. I told her she simply needed to go with the documentation and that there'd be no problem. She then told me she hadn't done any of it. She gave me the (cheese log caliber) excuse for not having done what she'd been ordered to do, and asked me what she thought the judge would do. I advised her that there was about a 50% chance she'd be taken into custody on the spot, and then given a token sentence of about 30 to 60 days in jail (of which she'd serve less than half). Unsatisfied with this answer, she asked me almost the exact same question 5 more times, hoping for a different response. When she didn't get it, she asked what the fee would be to appear with her in Bakersfield the next day. I told her she'd be throwing her money away b/c, given the limited nature of the situation, she'd have just as much chance of being thrown in the hoosegow w/ a lawyer as she was without. The ability to argue, make distinctions, and persuade were of no value in this situation. She did none of the community service and the judge could do whatever struck his fancy.
For over half an hour, she would not accept this response, and kept offering me increases in fee. She literally didn't believe what I was telling her and assumed I was posturing for a larger retainer.
It's a cultural thing and God, does it waste time when your trying to pay someone the courtesy of candor.