I no Longer Have a Right to Remain Silent (3)
Caricatures of Lawyers
Every profession and organization have caricatures attached to them that are completely false for the whole. For example, mechanics are perceived to be thieves who take advantage of those who do not know much about vehicle repair and maintenance; used car salesmen sell faulty vehicles and will tell you any lie to make a dollar; Christadelphia is a cult that will allow sexual abuse because their theology is prevents them reporting such cases to the government officials or separating from abusive spouses. Obviously there are isolated events where these things are true. But on the whole, mechanics do not take advantage of people, used car salesmen provide a necessary and honest service, and Christadelphians do not protect sexual abusers, despite the need to write a book to spot abuse and stop ecclesias from protecting and fostering such behavior.
Despite Matthew 7’s commandment not to judge, Christians are routinely guilty of casting blanket judgments. The author is certainly guilty of judging others. However, caricatures are a kind of judgment, as it casts entire groups into condemnation without any evidence to support it. We should not judge, but if we do cast dispersions upon people, we need to at least do it on an individual, case-by-case level, instead of blanket caricatures.
One of the most common caricatures is that lawyers enjoy the suffering of others so they can profit off that suffering. Lawyers generally are expensive. However, this is a law of economics rather than a case of schadenfreude. Attorneys have enormous overhead. Attorneys require a staff, building, very expensive malpractice insurance, subscriptions to form builders and research books, taxes, continuing education, bar dues, payments on an enormous student loan, and large funds just to pay the court fees. After all these things are paid, the lawyer has to take home enough to pay himself or herself, and feed a family. In addition, the better the service, the more in demand the service becomes; thus, prices go up for better service. This is no more a case of paying for freedom than going to the grocery store and paying for survival. Yet, frustration is thrown at attorneys for their fees, but not a grocery store, beef ranchers, or farmer for paying them just to survive and avoid starvation. In fact, 34% of income is spend on just food for many Americans! Lawyers provide a service, and like any other product, price and quality vary, which is why it is important to find the right attorney for you by doing a little research.
However, many attorneys, including the author, have provided free services for those who did not have any available funds. Some of these cases are funded by charity and government; others due to the good nature of the attorney. But, as mentioned above, economics still plays a role. If not funded by government or charity, the attorney must spend more time away from family to work more so he or she can make up the lost revenue.
The author has never known an attorney that enjoyed the suffering of others. There is the exception some have for people such as child molesters or rapist who are now suffering due to their consequences.
As mentioned in the previous post, there are certainly bad actors in the legal profession, just like any other profession. That being said, attorneys are highly regulated by the state bar as well as economics. Many attorneys who are not well skilled are quickly driven out of business as clients soon avoid them. Bad actors are doubly hurt by both economics and revocation of their license. Admittedly, it isn’t perfect, as there are still bad attorneys. However, it clearly demonstrates that the profession is overwhelming good, honest people.