How evil are lawyers?

by LogCon 52 Replies latest social humour

• 

  LV101

  Band you certainly are judgmental "I don't see how anyone on this thread knows enough to condemn anyone" - WOW! Excuse me - but we are entitled to our opinions. What qualifies you to judge our experiences in life with individuals employed/retained in many walks of life. Some of us have hired hundreds of employees in their respective fields, work, and presently have assistants for personal jobs (real estate, maintenance, errands, house managers, personal cooks, caterers, contractors, etc.), and are more than qualified to respond to the post. Even if we don't personally hire we know of individuals in many fields and can "condemn."

  I personally know excellent-rated lawyers along with some lazy ones - nice people but let's just say can't make a decent living at the profession. A decent lawyer is never going to be without income. One degree certainly isn't impressive - some lawyers are well educated and have degrees in two - three areas. Some people are not of higher education yet do exceedingly well in life. All hat and no cattle isn't too impressive to me.
• 

  talesin

  I know a TRULY evil lawyer. He is very powerful, and threatened me that if I don't keep my mouth shut, well,,, those who 'talk'.... disappear.

  And I hope his ***k rots off, child molesting bastard!

  tal
• 

  Band on the Run

  No, working for lawyers does not give one a basis to know legal skills. I worked in legal settings in college as part of my financial aid package. First of all, Martindale-Hubbel and its competitors rate lawyers as to quality. The vast majority of people judge lawyers by the result without understanding what obstacles were faced. People here always want justice in their eyes. The law is not about justice but specific rules developed in England in the Middle Ages. I don't know a single evil lawyer. We worked 80 hour weeks. It is a competitive field. Most applicants will not make law school. Once you are in law school, the pressure is high. I saw lawyers routinely do almost anything for a client. Many is a lawyer who has had to return from vacation early b/c of some matter.

  There are sophisticated users of legal services and nonsophisticated users. I've only represented sophisticated users. They know the legal rules already. Sophisticated users are regular users who have a much better understanding of how law works. From my posts here or reading posts on how Conti is going to be the end of the WT, you have clients who go on gut feelings. I pray I will never have to work with people who don't understand. You can explain the culture, the law, history, etc. It makes no difference. The WT lawyers are not evil. Evil is a different class from incompetent.

  William Kunstler was no saint lawyer. He played a very important part in the early civil rights struggle. I was furious with him for representing the Central Park jogger's attackers. Many people stopped talking to him. He was right. They were railroaded. My law school was half a block from his home. Some of the 60s radicals belonged in prison. I am not talking about the Chicago Seven. I was on the ground and would attend trials for course work. He seemed isolated. We shared a table in the law library.

  I know what I witnessed with my own eyes. Lawyers are not overcompensated for their time. Almost a decade of education is at stake. When I sat in class and the library, the potential clients partied. The system would collapse if lawyers were evil. Why not start threads on evil beauticians or maintenance men? I am totally fed up with ignorant remarks.
• 

  LV101

  Well, let's just sum it up and say lawyers are the most educated ones in the world - NOT! It's 8 yrs. education - a school teacher with a masters degree and 32 units has as much if not more education than a lawyer. An engineer with masters - duh - many professional have as much education if not more than a lawyer. They only have 4 yrs. undergrad unless their brilliant and graduate in 2 - 3 yrs. then 3 yrs. law school. There are psychotherapists that go to school many, many, yrs. longer than a psychiatrist which is about 10 - 11+ yrs. Few, legitimate, psychotherapists around (some were "grandfathered" in) because they are about 50 when they've finally completed their education.

  There are so many college grads going to law school today - more law schools which helps costs for the underprivileged. I know business men who work full time and go part time - graduate in the 3 yrs while running a business. Students work and graduate in 3 yrs. and many have to study intensely to graduate. Not all are as academically inclined. The more intelligent lawyers generally are well rounded/balanced - less opinionated maybe why they're so successful which makes sense.

  Some are evil/lazy and don't make a decent living and some are very professional/ethical thus do very good (some are crooks and do good) just like all other fields. They do work 80 hr. weeks in trials and generally long hrs. unless they're without clients or in less time-consuming fields. No one should hire a lawyer without researching and Martindale-Hubbel as a starting point. I personally don't trust any rating (lawyers, doctors, merchants, thiefs) and, unfortunately, there's nothing like first-hand experience with any professional (the gardner included) as indicated by many posts above.
• 

  jgnat

  BOTR, the question is if I would know lawyers. I do. From experience. I'm not claiming full breadth of legal experience, but I do think I rate to speak on this subject. I am miffed.
• 

  LV101

  Logcon/and others - here's another avenue to check out lawyers. Contact your state bar association and check them out as much as possible re/fee disputes, unethical conduct/malpractice lawsuits, etc. Martindale-Hubbel and your state bar assoc. would be a start in the right direction. There's shady business going on time to time with personal injury firms - we've all heard of ambulance chasing and that's not all.

  Yrs. ago individuals weren't aware they had avenues to protect themselves but they clearly do. Lawyers aren't required to have malpractice insurance for nothing! Of course, it also protects them against unethical (evil) clients.

  Lawyers - like everyone else - may be drunks, drug users - all of the above.
• 

  LV101

  The ethical, good, lawyers are always being retained by clients who are involved in lawsuits where shoddy work/representation is involved. Seriously! It's no different than any other field or work.
• 

  Vidiot

  Quarterback - "I almost became a lawyer."

  Way back in the day, my elementary school principal told my Mom that I argued like one.
• 

  LV101

  Vidiot - that's too cute/love it!
• 

  Juan Viejo2

  I've been on both sides of this question on several occasions. Like other human beings, lawyers can range from dedicated to deluded, from gifted to gutless, from caring to careless.

  I've served on juries where attorneys on both sides were so incompetent (and the judge too) that I could never decide until the last minute which way to vote. In one case the side that was clearly winning - and I mean without any doubt whatsoever - had their attorney talk them into a low-end settlement. All of us on the jury wondered if the guy had been paid off by the other side.

  I've been represented by attorneys in a few situations and challenged by a couple. One divorce attorney called me at work in the middle of the day while I was in a meeting with higher management and threatened me. I turned on the speaker phone and let him rant. "Give your ex-wife $$$$$ or you'll never see your kids again!!! (The amount he was asking per month was twice my take-home pay.)" One of my guests reached in his pocket and pulled out a card from his own personal attorney. "Just tell the jerk on the phone that you will be represented by this fellow." When I mentioned the other lawyers name - there was silence at the other end. "I'll get back to you..." was his very softly-spoken response." And in fact, I got custody of my kids and my wife ended up paying me some ridiculously low child support - only because I didn't want to do any more damage to her than her attorney had already done.

  Some criminal attorneys are lazy - especially in domestic violence cases. They always seem to want the accused to plea - even when the plea will involve jail time. One private attorney shared with me his opinion of most Public Defenders: "They are so overworked, understaffed, and usually the newest kids on the block, that 90% of them won't even remember your name when addressing the judge. They will confuse the details of your case with those of ten others they are working on. Their only real goal in life is to get out of the PD's office on on their own or moved to the District Attorney's office as soon as possible."

  JV