Are Lawyers Ethical? Do they do justice?
In a recent psychology class, my daughter's classmates indicated that they felt lawyers, as a group, were unethical. My daughter did not speak up to defend me, her mother, her stepfather or the many other attorneys she knows. She didn't feel like creating a problem especially since she felt totally outnumbered.
So, why are lawyers, as a group, considered unethical by college students? Why are we characterized as sharks, bloodsuckers and leeches? A recent discussion at my office brought this comment by one of your lawyers during a discussion of the value called justice:
We aren't here to do justice. We are advocates. Our
job is to get the best deal we can for our clients.
One of the non-lawyer participants in the discussion noted that perhaps his observation was one reason lawyers have lost the respect of the general public and are viewed as merely the hired gun, the shark, feeding off the public for the benefit of only their client with no concern for what is happening to the other party and only for the bottom line.