How Low Will The Lawyers Go?

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by rdouglass:
Yes lawyers help us (common citizens) out of many legal issues that we are not capable or trained to deal with. And of that we pay you handsomely.
Originally posted by Growltigger:
I believe the same applies to pretty much every trade or profession. I could say the same about plumbers, boiler repairmen, carpenters, electricians, surveyors, and in fact, just about anybody who has a service or skill which you personally dont possess. I know that my plumber for example makes me look cheap!

Originally posted by rdouglass:
This is just my opinion but also please remember that the majority of folks are NOT lawyers; American or otherwise and so we're not privy to all of the resources at YOUR disposal. To get at those we MUST go through you....
Originally posted by Growltigger:
I am not privy to the art of IT, I do not understand plumbing, I am not a very good electrician, in order to obtain these services, I need to go through the appropriately ualified person, and utilise the resources at their disposal. Why should lawyers be any different. We are specialists in our respective fields, and it is that expertise that is the one commodity that we have to sell. What you appear to be suggesting is a denial of my right to make a living as a lawyer.

That is a rational argument Gt, however there is a difference. At least a perceived difference, whether it is valid or not I will not attmept to say.

Like the plumber, electrician, IT person, etc. the lawyer is providing a skilled service. The percieved difference however is that the service the layers provide is only required because of the exsistance of other lawyers.

I need a plumber because I want running water to my loo and don't wish to freeze my bum going to the trees behind my house in at 6 in the morning.

The cynical view of lawyers on the other hand is that their purpose for exsistance can be boiled down to two basic purposes. To get something for myself that belongs to someone else, and to keep something of my own that someone elses lawyer is trying to get for him.

You could say that lawyers would be unneccesary if I would simply be happy with what is mine, and if everybody else were happy with what is theirs. On the other hand, there is no malicious intent behind my pipes freezing on a cold day. And if I don't have the skill to repair them myself, I need someone who does. I can't eliminate my need for a plumber by convincing everyone else they don't need a plumber.

I realize that lawyers believe they serve an important function in defense of the powerless against the powerful. But the cynic will reply that the powerful only allow the laywers to do what they allow them to do. That the defense the lawyer provides is merely an illusion the powerful allows the powerless to enjoy. The only thing the powerful really fears is that the powerless will lose the illusion that there really is anything protecting them other then the powerful's promise to "follow the rule of law". Because losing that illusion results in anarchy, and anarchy is the only thing that can truely cause the powerful to lose his power. He needs to maintain order, and to do that the powerless must be allowed either hope or fear. And while fear is effective for a time, it is inefficent and a poor motivator for the long term.

Of course, that's just the cynical view.