Lawyers and the Law

One of my nephews remarked to the effect that the Law (i.e., the police and government officials) in the US show you some respect only if you have an attorney. In that context, this Matthew Yglesias post is interesting.

Germany and Finland spent three times as much of their gross domestic product as we do on civil legal services for the poor. At the high end, England outspends the United States twelve times.

PS: to be sure, this is assistance related to civil, and not criminal, matters.