Young Lawyers Section

LAWYERS IMAGE: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Surveys suggest that the professional image of lawyers is on the decline. Apparently, America cannot seem to make it up its mind about how to feel about us. The public reviles them, relies upon them, respects and ridicules them, feels overwhelmed and intimidated and intrigued and repelled by them. The studies find that most people dislike lawyers as a body but hold his or her own lawyer or lawyers they know in high regard.

What has brought on this perception of the legal profession as villainous? One need not look far, nor think hard, for the answer is painfully obvious. The answer is on our televisions nightly, in the print media daily and on the lips of citizens on the job and at their dinner tables. In short, our image has been tainted misunderstanding by the mass media and mis-characterization of what we do and why we do it. Over time the American public has come to despise things that they do not agree with or do not understand. Unfortunately, in this day of instant news, messages, and gratification the public believes that if provided with sound bites and headlines their instinct will lead them to the right conclusion. It is with this backdrop that I believe the image of lawyers has been tainted and it is a blow that the profession may never recover.

Lawyers have allowed a certain set of individuals to create images of our profession which are absolute falsehoods or gross inaccuracies at best. There is a constituency in our country whose goal it is to use the power and influence they have to further consume more wealth and power. It is this faction who continually feed this negative perception of lawyers. These power brokers understand that lawyers keep the controls of society in place. Villainizing lawyers makes it easier to manipulate the public for their greedy ends.

Look at the things individuals say when they speak of their dislike for lawyers. You will often hear the public refer to personal injury lawyers as "ambulance chasers" who file "frivolous lawsuits". You will hear of "fast-talking" criminal defense lawyers who use "technicalities" to "get the guilty clients off." You hear talk of "only the lawyers profit from this" and the use of "Rambo tactics." It is interesting to note that all of these buzz phrases are not phrases that would have been coined by the general public, but are words that have been given to the masses by the media. The buzzwords are repeated over and over again, in setting after setting, until the public believes that there is truth behind these words being spoken. This is aided by the fact that for the longest time our profession has permitted itself to be the butt of silly, stupid and stereotypical jokes while taking no action to stop them.

This parallels with the classic "us versus them" baiting that has served to divide societies across the ages. First the stereotype is created, then the perpetuation of the stereotype. And then, the reappearance of the untrue stereotype in the media or being spoken by some politician or talk show host (like "Hush Numbskull") seems to give validity to the statement. The untrue statements are then quoted by the ignorant and uninformed – like the "doo-doo heads" (oops . . . that’s "ditto-heads"). The same is true for what has happened to the image of lawyers.

I know that the people who have devised this dastardly attack on our profession will never admit to it. One of the rules of power is that intentions must be concealed to keep the public off balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind the actions. Guide the public down the wrong path, envelop them in smoke, and by the time that they realize the intentions, it will be too late.

Unfortunately this is the current sad plight of the legal profession. We have waited too long to correct the wrongs. Corporate America can use economic leverage over workers, if it were not for lawyers, so they tell lies about us. The say "we have to have lay-offs because of the lawyers," the reason the prices are so high is because "we have to pay for liability insurance," because you know the lawyers will sue us. Likewise, the insurance companies do not want us around. One company has recently attempted to pass out brochures explaining that the injured do need lawyers. Insurance companies spend millions every year advertising and mis-stating the works that lawyers do. Law enforcement agencies and the general public do not like the fact that we make the government prove criminal cases beyond a reasonable doubt and do so within constitutional confines.

So, what can be done to change our tarnished image? I know that numerous friends of mine in the Bar have engaged in countless hours of hard work and community service to try and change this perception. I know that other people have contributed great amounts of money for scholarships and other worthwhile projects to overcome this image. Still others have taken time to write editorials and speak in public to address this issue. Their work should, and must be, praised in the effort to right the wrong that has been done to us.

As for me, I will continue to fight right alongside my brethren, but, I will not do so to the detriment of being able to do the very thing that I know has triggered the attack in the first place. So therefore, I will continue to represent the aggrieved public, the injured, and the wrongfully accused. To the extent that that upsets big businesses, insurance companies, the media, law enforcement, the general public, well that’s just too damn bad. I am a lawyer, I am proud to be a lawyer, that is what lawyers do. Good image, bad image, or no image at all. That’s what lawyers do.