Lawyer Bashing??

[Barbs]

I have trouble understanding all the lawyer bashing that goes on in the media and in society in general. Was watching "Changing Lanes" today (that Ben Affleck / Samuel L. Jackson movie) and I was appaled (well not really appalled maybe just a little offended) at the way lawyers are portrayed. I also, to my great embarassment admit that I watch "Angel" and the way that lawyers are portrayed on that show as total slimeballs is so strange.

Is this strange to anyone else? Considering the amount of hard work, education and rigorous qualifications that aspiring lawyers have to go through in order to become lawyers?

[kimpossible]

You're not alone in that guilty pleasure, I watch Angel too. David Boreanaz is hot. I also watch Buffy but only when I can get the full season DVD set.

Yes, I am a geek.

[kasia]

Originally posted by Barbs@Aug 9 2002, 09:30 AM
Considering the amount of hard work, education and rigorous qualifications that aspiring lawyers have to go through in order to become lawyers?
yuh, good post. :lol:

lawyer bashing used to bother me...but then i began to think that it was based on either 1 of 2 things:

1) the person bashing is extremely uneducated and really does not know what he is talking about.

2) the bashing is directed at those graduating from non aba-accredited schools who eventually become slimy personal injury lawyers.



<!--EDIT|kasia|Aug 9 2002, 09:55 PM-->

[deez nuts]

We are taught in med school, that lawyers are your friends, that and your stoke broker :P

Because if you ever get slapped by a suit, your defense lawyer holds your whole career in his/her hands.



<!--EDIT|Chasiubao_Boy|Aug 9 2002, 10:39 PM-->

[Barbs]

yes, i'm a die-hard buffy & angel fan! eeks!!

lawyer bashing still bothers me. i feel that it is based on total ignorance about our profession. then again, maybe if i were an ambulance chaser i'd have no problems with it. but honestly, even personal injury lawyers have to work hard and go through all the rigors of certification in order to practice law.

just seems somehow ignoble after sitting through so many classes which tout the legal profession as a higher cause, to have to put up from this abuse from lay people. i mean, hey! why do doctors get all the respect around here?

[achtungbaby]

Aside from the common stereotype of attorneys-as-ambulance-chasers, I think there's a tendency to scorn a profession that is so clearly biased towards class. If you have money, you can get a high-priced attorney who can find the loopholes to set you free; if not, you get an overworked PD who manages to get you 10 years for shoplifting.

[kasia]

Originally posted by achtungbaby@Aug 10 2002, 01:41 AM
Aside from the common stereotype of attorneys-as-ambulance-chasers, I think there's a tendency to scorn a profession that is so clearly biased towards class. If you have money, you can get a high-priced attorney who can find the loopholes to set you free; if not, you get an overworked PD who manages to get you 10 years for shoplifting.
but how's that so different from other professions?

if you're poor and you get cancer, you die.

if you're rich, you definitely have a better chance.

*lots* of people get turned away from hospitals regardless of their condition b/c they don't have insurance.

[Arex]

I think most people just think of lawyers as vultures. The only time most people ever really see 'em is when something's fucked up. And you may ask, how's that any different than a doctor? Well, doctors are always the good guys since they're there to save lives and make people feel better. Lawyers are perceived as hired guns there to protect the interests of the highest bidder or weasels trying to figure out new and inventive ways of sucking money out of people. I personally could care less what the average person out there thinks about lawyers since I know that if they're ever involved in some sort of legal dispute, they'll be damn happy that they had an attorney.


Alex

[kasia]

yuh, and it's all a misperception.

you don't know how common we come across cases with lawyers prosecuting on behalf on patients who have been molested by their doctors while they were under.

...not that i'm trying to elicit doctor-bashing. just wanted to point out that many people are misinformed.

doctors save lives, sure. but what's the point of living if there is no justice and equality?

[Arex]

Originally posted by kasia@Aug 10 2002, 01:11 AM
doctors save lives, sure. but what's the point of living if there is no justice and equality?
Very true. We are the regulators...

RX

[Ayers]

Lawyer bashing... well I think there's usually a reason for why reputations/stereotypes exist. Not to say that they are justified...

My personal experience with attorneys have generally been negative. There was always something about the way they talked that made them feel slippery (almost slimy-used-car-salesman-named-Joe-wants-to sell-you-the-Pinto slippery). They never lied to me, but I always felt like I was never told the truth. And seeing what it is like to be on the receiving-end of a litigation makes me like lawyers less.

Not to say they're all bad, or that the person's character is tarnished in someway by becoming an attorney. In fact some of my closest friends are in law school now, or lawyers.

As far as the comparison between doctors and lawyers? I think a survey I saw showed that the top three professions people trusted were religous leader (pastor, priest, etc), pharmacist, and doctor - in no particular order. Just because there are a few bad apples (ie priests fondling little boys, doctors taking advantage of anestethized patients) doesn't change what they are supposed to be. Lawyers are supposed to use the facts and present THEIR story, using whatever means they can -- not heal people, or give religous guidance.

Anyhoo, <rant rant>
As an aside... I have a friend who attends USC Law School... what year are you guys?

-Ayers

[deez nuts]

Hey wait up, there are plenty of asshole MD's I know and have known.

Why do you even listen to what other people think and say? You're doing what you want to do. And for someone to generalize all lawyers as bad, you know what, fuck them.

Are there bad lawyers, yeah. Just like there are bad MD's. You guys are just more in the public eye than us MD's. I mean the only time a MD is on the news is if 1)He fucked up royally 2)In court accompanied by his LAWYER 3)Made a huge medical break through.

I am pretty much stereotyped as a cocky, gung-ho, not a "practicer of real medicine" because I am surgical resident; the whole surgery vs medicine bit and specialty hierarchy bullshit amongst MD's. Hell in every hospital tv show, the surgeons are portrayed as assholes. Does it bother me? Hell no, this is what I wanted to do. Surgery was my first choice on match day, surgery is what I'll do. And you know what? I'm gonna try and be the best at it, too. Screw what others think, without getting to know me first.

And Kasia, you're right, there is a difference for the rich and poor in terms of hospital care. But, remember it's the hospital admins that turn away the poor for lack of money and/or insurance. In defense of my fellow residents; I'm pretty sure if it were up to us, most of us will treat someone in need for free. Since we are still naive and wanting to help people and change the world, without the sense of monetary cost. Although going into my third year, it's slowly ebbing away.

And well said Arex. You weren't put on this earth to make other people happy and sculpt your life around their perceptions.



<!--EDIT|Chasiubao_Boy|Aug 10 2002, 02:57 PM-->

[angel nympho]

Although I know how hard it is to become a lawyer, you can't deny the fact that a lawyer's job often entails stretching the truth, or at least reworking it. Lawyers often have the job of pushing the buttons on certain people to elicit the response they want. I'm sure not all lawyers do this, but there's something I see wrong with those people who's job it is to defend child molesters, murderers, and rapists. Ya know what I mean?

But I don't know. I don't really do any lawyer-bashing. I usually don't even give it a second thought.

[Arex]

You know what? I'm an attorney and even I acknowledge that many attorneys are damn slimey... Many, but not most.

RX

[Barbs]

i suppose i'm still laboring under that starry-eyed idealism. u know, that point in life where you want to do well in your profession and actually believe that there is worth to what you will be devoting your career to?

[Barbs]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Aug 11 2002, 02:11 AM
I'm sure not all lawyers do this, but there's something I see wrong with those people who's job it is to defend child molesters, murderers, and rapists. Ya know what I mean?


the way our criminal justice system works, we try or at least pay lip service to trying to ensure equal representation for all. that's why lawyers exist who defend "child molesters, murderers, and rapists". most of the time, they are public defenders who are underpaid and overworked. i'm sure they don't like to defend such people but having a fair system means that these people deserve representation too. that's not to say, as is the common misconception, that these lawyers try to get their clients off scott-free. likely they try to make sure that these people get a fair trial as well. i'd have less of an argument for high profile, well paid white-collar defense attorneys...