Why Does Everyone Hate Lawyers?

What this episode covers

Lawyers have a special place in the community. At their highest, the legal professional is a trusted advisor, assisting their client in all aspects of their decision making in business. However, variously, lawyers are also the butt of jokes, the object of skepticism or hatred, and viewed as a necessarily evil. We can be told we are greedy, unfeeling and generally disconnected from reality. These are perceptions which, in my experience, are only rarely true. In today’s podcast I want to talk about some of the reasons for that. First, there are those who hate lawyers simply by virtue of their reputation. They might not have ever used a lawyer, but have allowed television, books, and media attention on dramatic issues and poor examples of the profession to skew their view of what we have to offer. Second, there are those who have used lawyers and had a poor experience. Sometimes this is because the lawyer did not do the right thing by them (either in reality or in their perception) and sometimes it is because the nature of the system did not meet their expectations. These are the realities that we must deal with as legal practitioners, but they are not insurmountable. Today is a discussion of the issues, to get you thinking about how they arise. Next podcast will be my thoughts on how we can go about changing those perceptions people have. Subscription Options You can get all the episodes and subscribe to the Podast in a number of ways: At the iTunes store (please leave a 5 star rating while you’re there!) At Stitcher Lawyers have a special place in the community. At their highest, the legal professional is a trusted advisor, assisting their client in all aspects of their decision making in business. However, variously, lawyers are also the butt of jokes, the object of skepticism or hatred, and viewed as a necessarily evil. We can be told we are greedy, unfeeling and generally disconnected from reality. These are perceptions which, in my experience, are only rarely true. In today’s podcast I want to talk about some of the reasons for that. First, there are those who hate lawyers simply by virtue of their reputation. They might not have ever used a lawyer, but have allowed television, books, and media attention on dramatic issues and poor examples of the profession to skew their view of what we have to offer. Second, there are those who have used lawyers and had a poor experience. Sometimes this is because the lawyer did not do the right thing by them (either in reality or in their perception) and sometimes it is because the nature of the system did not meet their expectations. These are the realities that we must deal with as legal practitioners, but they are not insurmountable. Today is a discussion of the issues, to get you thinking about how they arise. Next podcast will be my thoughts on how we can go about changing those perceptions people have. Subscription Options You can get all the episodes and subscribe to the Podast in a number of ways: At the iTunes store (please leave a 5 star rating while you’re there!) At Stitcher

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