A lawyer walks into a pub...

[apothanein kerdos]

I've been noticing more and more in Christian society, as well as on Worthyboards, that there is a strong anti-lawyer stigma. It's okay to say lawyers are going to hell, or lawyers are liberal, or take a crack shot at lawyers and get away with it, free of consequence. I have to ask, is this truly justified? There are some bad lawyers, no doubt. Personal injury lawyers often give the whole lot a bad name...or certain defense attorneys can do the same thing. Yet, let us not forget that when our rights are violated for being Christians, it is often Christian lawyers that come and defend us. If a wrong is committed against you or your family, it is a lawyer that will seek justice. If you are falsly accused of a crime, it is a lawyer that will defend you.

I state all of this because, honestly, I'm kind of tired of seeing it. Some of the greatest men this nation has ever known have also been lawyers. Don't bash them all because a few of them are dirty. If this was a justified practise, then I think it would be okay for me to bash all preachers.

[Gerioke]

Jesus is the great attorney for humanity.

[EricH]

It is like anything in life. There are good attorneys and bad attorneys

[mikado5001]

Jesus is the great attorney for humanity.

TRUE IT IS!!! But resist this, I cannot. Sorry I am. If offended, you are.

Why did the shark not eat the lawyer?

Professional courtesy.

[Leonard]

I'm with you on this one; 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

[Gerioke]

Jesus is the great attorney for humanity.

TRUE IT IS!!! But resist this, I cannot. Sorry I am. If offended, you are.

Why did the shark not eat the lawyer?

Professional courtesy.

Did Yoda take over your computer?

[mikado5001]

Jesus is the great attorney for humanity.

TRUE IT IS!!! But resist this, I cannot. Sorry I am. If offended, you are.

Why did the shark not eat the lawyer?

Professional courtesy.

Did Yoda take over your computer?

Discovered my secret, you have.

[Scarletprayers]

I'm with you on this one; 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

Exactly!

[Bolts]

We have legal aid here in NZ for criminal cases. For those who can't afford a lawyer, the Government will pay for it. It was discovered that most crimes were commited by low income families.

There is also a new trend rising where people are defending themselves. Not so much to save money but because the defense lawyers usually only have about half an hour to put a case together before it goes before the Judge.

Our lawyers are pretty good. They're professional. First visits are usually free (not in all cases). Prices are than laid out and payment plans are discussed.

I suppose that because the USA is such a big place, it's easier for the bad ones to slip through the gaps.

[Ovedya]

Okay, I think this was intended as a serious discussion. Let's please treat the OP with some respect here.

I have worked for and with attorneys for the past 6 years of my career, and I have to say that most attorneys that I have met are respectable persons, and not at all like some people have made them out to be. I think that we should remember that many of our most respected statemen and Presidents have been attorneys.

Most attorneys that I have met have a sincere respect, and even a reverence, for the laws of our country and of our state. I personally think that that is something to be regarded highly in our society - especially given the increasing irreverence and disrespect for our laws.

I think that the predominant disrespectful and demeaning attitude toward certain professions is largely fueled and propagated by those who have had negative experiences with a minority of those professionals. However, given the fact that we have all had negativ experiences with professionals in other fields, I wonder why it is that we find lawyer jokes particularly compelling.

Maybe it's jealousy.

Think about it: We've all have bad experiences with mechanics, with some mechanics that try to rip us off for parts that we didn't need or repairs that don't exist. So where are all the "mechanic jokes"? Well, it doesn't take a great number of years to become a mechanic, and it's not really a prestigious profession. So we cut the mechanics a break. After all, they're all blue collar workers anyway. They're "one o us."

It takes a lot of years and a lot of hard studying to become a lawyer - a good lawyer - and it takes a lot of years of hard work as a lawyer to make a really good wage. Believe it or not, in a lot of states the starting salary for an attorney is not that much better than the starting wage of a public school teacher. In fact, a construction worker or a good mechanic can make more in a year than an attorney fresh out of school.

An attorney fresh out of school also has loans that he has to start paying off, and those loans are usually upward of $150 thousand, or more. So the popular concept of the "rich lawyer" is vastly overstated. It takes many years and a lot of really hard work for an attorney to make the kind of "upper-scale" wage that most people attribute to them.

Also, most people that hate lawyers - that really hate lawyers - do so because they have been on the receiving end of a negative lawsuit. In other words, someone sued them, they lost, and they had to pay 2x the attorney fees and costs in addition to the judgment. And of course, when something like a lawsuit doesn't go your way the fist thing you're going to do is blame everyone else: the judge, the lawyers, the other guy, etc.

The attorneys that really give the profession a bad name are those "ambulance chaser" types that only work personal injury cases. Those are the ones that we see on the television all the time, or in the back of our phone books. There's a dozen of these types in every town. For the most part, the respectable attorneys that handle real estate affairs, civil litigation, personal estates, etc., really look down on those guys. Personal injury lawyers are strictly in the profession for the money. They care little for the law or for someone's pain. They equate pain with dollar signs. Some of the things that those guys say and do in the courtroom are honestly pretty darn shameful. It's for that reason that most attorneys I've met would punch you dead in the face if you ever called them an "ambulance chaser."

I think that being associated with the upholding of the laws of the land - whether you are a police officer, an attorney, or a judge - a person deserves automatic respect. They don't deserve ridicule at all - especially from Christians who shouldn't be ridiculing anyone. I would challenge any believer who reads this to go out and befriend someone in this profession. Ask them about their careers. I think that you might be surprised at just how seriously and how passionately some of these folks feel about the laws of our country.