Question

Write about why we think lawyers (some; not all!) have a bad reputation. Explain why this reputation is either justified or not justified

Answer 1

Lawyers have got a bad reputation everywhere because of various reasons which are more like perceptions people hold or the psychological aspecrs they associate with the lawyers. Some of them are as follows:

1. Nobody would find or hire a lawyer when things are normal or going right. People call lawyers when there is no option left as either they are in a big problem or they don't have the right person to handle their case or make a decision etc. This simply means almost every client that hires a lawyer are pretty unhappy with their situation even if the situation is winning a lottery or ending of a marriage.

2. Another reason could be the fees or the costs. We all know that we percieve to create a bad image for someone when they hire too much and give too little. Lawyers do the same. For every hearing, they hire a whole lot of money with no or much result on our case. It is very costly to have a lawyer.

3. At last, one more reason is the unethical activities conducted by the lawyers. We have always seen lawyers conducting various unethical activities where they charge from us but still delay the hearing and court process to make extra money from us. This just not only sums up our costs, but also creates a bad reputation about them as they aren't solving the case as effectively as they should.

All of these reasons lie as per the perceptions and the kinds of lawyers people have met in their lives. Some people would have met good and ethical lawyers, thus for them having a lawyer is about the good reputation they hold. But, majority of the people would still be afraid and have a lawyer around.