There are definitely lawyers out there who give the profession a bad name. And often there are sensational headlines about big damage awards in the millions of dollars for silly things. Some of these are urban myths. I’ve also heard that most of these “sensational” awards are reduced by 90% on appeal a lot of the time.
Lawyers are ethically and professionally obligated to advocate for their clients within the confines of the law. That law ultimately is set by judges and legislators. If I were your lawyer and I settled for $10,000 and the case law said you could have had $100,000 for your loss, you wouldn’t be very happy with me, would you? The government is free to set a statutory limit on personal damage awards but for whatever reasons it has not done so.
Personally, I have a few theories of my own about why lawyers get a bad rep. First of all, it’s an adversarial system so the job is not to be nice to the other side. So if you are involved in a lawsuit, right off the bat you are going to perceive the lawyers on the other side as jackals. Second of all, on average, 50% of clients will lose their case, by necessity. So at least 50% of the time, not only will you have a bad impression of the lawyers on the other side, you will also have a bad impression of your own lawyer.
One thing you learn early on as a lawyer that clients are always convinced that justice is on their side, and that their case is a slam-dunk. Lawyers unfortunately have to weigh the case more objectively, and that’s another reason people don’t like lawyers - they tend to be the bearers of bad news, as in “sorry, you might lose”
Finally, think about the times that you have to see a lawyer, especially a trial lawyer. You are either suing someone or being sued, you are getting divorced, being charged with a crime, fighting over child custody. Basically, it’s all unpleasant stuff. Finally, it doesn’t help that lawyers have high hourly rates, and it probably pisses people off that the lawyer is profiting from their misery.
But that’s the free market - lawyers can only charge what the market will bear.
What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
JK, congrats, let me know when I can host a game for you down here in the sunshine. I hope this new job isn’t going to cut into your Axis and Allies time!
@froodster:
Hey dudes - I GOT A JOB! Yay!
Congratulations on getting the job!!!
I hope it is everything you want it to be and success comes with just the right amount of challenge and reward.
@froodster:
There are definitely lawyers out there who give the profession a bad name.
…
I find it interesting that the “bad name” for the profession dates back to before the days of Shakespeare.
My guess is that there is a disconnect between what the “common man” sees as fair and legal and what the lawyer administered legal process produces. Add the absence of any apparent real check and balance on lawyers and there is not room for a lot of love.
Personally, I think that lawyers are going to have to proactively fix the public perception problem or risk being fixed by the public. Either they police themselves to a squeaky clean appearance or the public will find a way to do it for them.
It’s tough. The trouble is, once you explain to the “common man” how the law works they cease to be a “common man” and become a “lawyer”.
For instance, I met with a woman this morning who has lost her case. She’s representing herself and is being sued for $100,000. So she tells me that the only reason she lost is because everyone from the sheriff to the lawyer to the judge is crooked. She says they must be because they found against her, despite the fact that she has all this evidence.
I looked at her evidence and it’s not very strong. I’m not surprised she lost. But there was nothing I could say to help her understand that she just had a stinker of a case. In her mind justice is 100% on her side. In any event, our office can’t help her because it’s a private matter and our office can only act in cases that will impact the law in the public interest. She says we have to help her because she has nowhere else to turn - every other lawyer she’s seen asks for a big fat retainer up front.
What I didn’t say to her is that that’s how lawyers make you go away. If a crazy person walks into your office and wants to sue everyone from the dog catcher to the President because life has given them a rough ride, it’s much easier to just ask for a retainer that you know they can’t pay than to try to reason them out of their insanity. Either way, you can’t represent this person because a) the case is a loser and b) they can’t pay you. If the case was a winner you could take it on contingency even if the person doesn’t have money, so people with GOOD cases but no money are not denied access to the system.
However, at the end of the day, I guarantee that when she gets the letter from our office stating that we can’t represent her, I know that in her mind I will simply become one more crooked lawyer who is in cahoots with the government and its campaign to defraud her. But there’s nothing I can do to prevent that. People like her see things only one way - theirs - and any lawyer who disagrees has obviously sold out and doesn’t care about justice.
Just remember this: 100% of litigants believe in the justice of their own case. 50% of those litigants will have their hopes dashed by their lawyer, the lawyers on the other side. When people win, they naturally attribute it to the strength of their case, with some credit to their lawyer. But when they lose, only the lawyers and judges can get the blame.
And you chose this profession why???
To be honest, this sounds like the hooker complaining that the johns don’t kiss her.
I chose it because I thought it would be interesting and give me lots of ways to participate in shaping the rules that govern our society. It also pays decently.
Frankly I don’t care what prejudices people have about lawyers. But just as you take offence to comments about troops in Iraq, you can understand that I don’t like it when people joke about killing people just because of their profession.
@froodster:
…
But just as you take offence to comments about troops in Iraq, you can understand that I don’t like it when people joke about killing people just because of their profession.
Yes I do understand.
Which is why I drove this “joke” of killing lawyers home here.
Negative stereotypes in the popular press of your profession have a negative impact on you.
I don’t thing all lawyers should be shot or fed into tree mulchers. I might advocate that for Al Sharpton on a bad day but I’m not sure he is really a lawyer. :-o I don’t harbor ill will toward you or my step dad or my sister-in-law because of your profession.
Now look at “Doonsebury” and tell me that I’m supposed to find his portrayal of the military amusing.
I have a problem with the Doonesbury strip portraying the military in Iraq as reluctantly working against impossible odds. I don’t know a single reluctant soldier. We all express misgivings in the presence of our families but get us away from that and it is clear we want to go. As for the odds being impossible, I don’t agree. It is not a cake walk but the value added at the end is huge and the average hajii on the street appreciates what the US is bringing to Iraq.
I have a problem with the Doonesbury strip portraying all veterans as having combat related neurosis, anger management issues and the like. This becomes what people expect to see in me when they learn I am a combat veteran. Thanks Garry, vets really need that kind of pat on the back.
Enough of this, Dan.
You have felt a taste of the targeting that the military people around you feel every day. Perhaps it was not fair to bring it to you in this fashion but it was an opportunity that I thought might be worth trying.
Catch you later.
Thomas
Fair enough.
Dan, I was Pre-Law myself… but I won;t hold that against ya!
Amazing… my education was a dual major of Political Science and Government & Public Service (Public Administration) with minors in Pre-Law, Economics, and Geo-Science. And now I find myself as a HAZMAT Accounts Manager…
Who knows Dan, you may get lucky and do a Neal Boorts and give up practicing law to host a very popular Talk Radio show :-)
I’ve often thought that I may not stay in Law forever. But for now, I’m really happy with the firm where I got a job, and I look forward to working there.
Did I mention that they close the office every Friday afternoon in the summer? and from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2? That’s PAID time off in addition to three weeks of holiday whenever. Sweet.
@froodster:
I’ve often thought that I may not stay in Law forever. But for now, I’m really happy with the firm where I got a job, and I look forward to working there.
Did I mention that they close the office every Friday afternoon in the summer? and from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2? That’s PAID time off in addition to three weeks of holiday whenever. Sweet.
Ahhh Filmon Fridays . . . .
Law is a great profession - just look at the legacy that guy Christie left:
http://www.momentumplanet.ca/?q=node/180 (one of many sites that describe his charity)
It’s a great stepping stone to politics, civic service, corporate stewardship etc.
Of course some lawyers discredit their profession, but we in the medical profession actually have to have statements explaining that we are not allowed to sleep with our patients ever - not necessary if all of us were honorable.
Anyway - i’m glad for you Dan, and i am confident that you will do your profession proud. Congrats.
