Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Mar 27, 2013 11:50:50 GMT -5
Conventional wisdom states that people don't like and/or don't trust lawyers.
Whenever studies showing which professions are trusted the most and the least, lawyers are near the bottem.
But why is there so much hate on lawyers?
I've had virtually interaction with lawyers, but those I have had are either neutral or positive. The only time I've ever engaged a lawyer professionally was when I hired one for a case. He won my case, and was professional and knowledgeable. Yeah, he was expensive, $200 an hour, but I consider it worth the investment because he did me a huge favor.
Though I suppose it doesn't help whenever saten is portrayed in movies and media, it's almost always as a smooth talking, good looking lawyer or business executive in a suit.
What say you, why so much hate for lawyers?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2013 11:52:18 GMT -5
They are blood sucking leaches, feeding on the society while leaving only their feces in return.
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kent
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Post by kent on Mar 27, 2013 11:54:53 GMT -5
Because they're a bunch of cheap, lying, no good, rotten, far flushing, snake licking,dirt eating, inbreed, overstuffed, ignorant, blood sucking, dog kissing,brainless, hopeless, heartless, fat , bug eyed, stiff legged, spotty lipped,worm headed, sacks of monkey stuff!
Chevy Chase quote
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vonna
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Post by vonna on Mar 27, 2013 11:54:59 GMT -5
Hey, some of my best friends are lawyers . . .
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2013 11:56:28 GMT -5
Because they're a bunch of cheap, lying, no good, rotten, far flushing, snake licking,dirt eating, inbreed, overstuffed, ignorant, blood sucking, dog kissing,brainless, hopeless, heartless, fat , bug eyed, stiff legged, spotty lipped,worm headed, sacks of monkey stuff!
Chevy Chase quote
Back when Chevy was funny.. What happened to him? I am blaming a lawyer.,
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 27, 2013 12:01:02 GMT -5
I know why people hate lawyers.
In general, you have to get a lawyer when something goes wrong in your life. Either you are declaring bankruptcy, or have been accused of a crime, or are getting a divorce, maybe someone died, or someone has wronged you so completely that you need help to force the law to make things right. These things are important, but sympathetic. All the other people in your life are rallying around you and trying to help, and feeling sorry for you. But the lawyers come up to at your time of need and give you a bill. Granted, you used their skills to try and fix a problem - but everyone else is bringing you cookies and listening to you vent for free. Not these guys - they have the audacity to kick you when you are down, by billing you. Shouldn't they help you out of the goodness of their hearts?
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 27, 2013 12:04:27 GMT -5
And some of these lawyers have the audacity to tell you your case sucks, or you are going to jail, or you are going to have to split your retirement, or you can have half of great aunt Bertha's estate even though she promised you on her deathbed, because the will leaves it to the SPCA.
There are also some that promise you the sun and the moon, run up your bill, and then get you the same thing you could have gotten at the beginning of your case for a quarter of the cost. Those people are scum.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Mar 27, 2013 12:05:49 GMT -5
I think a lot of people believe that the legal system is needlessly complicated - that lawyers and politicians set it up only so that they could profit. I also think people resent paying $250+ per hour when "all you need to do is Google it or get it from Nolo." But IMO, the people who have disdain for attorneys are also pretty dismissive of the level of knowledge and experience one needs in order to be a good one. (And judging from the complete ignorance of the legal process/constitutional issues being demonstrated on my Facebook wall right now, there is a very clear need for attorneys!)
To give some credit to the naysayers, though - I agree that there are too many law schools churning out too many students right now. There is no need for us to educate another 50,000 new lawyers each year - it's more than the market can bear.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Mar 27, 2013 12:06:55 GMT -5
It's not YOUR lawyer that's the problem, it's the OTHER person's lawyer that is a "cheap, lying, no good, rotten, far flushing, snake licking,dirt eating, inbreed, overstuffed, ignorant, blood sucking, dog kissing,brainless, hopeless, heartless, fat , bug eyed, stiff legged, spotty lipped,worm headed, sack of monkey stuff!"
We spent thousands of dollars (>10k) fighting my spouse's ridiculous ex-wife in court over child visitation, feeding them tofu, and various other stupid things that shouldn't have been brought before the court.
Our lawyer? Priceless.
Their lawyer? Scum sucking leech.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 27, 2013 12:07:24 GMT -5
I HATE when people say "his lawyer got him off on a technicality." The Constitution is not a technicality, people.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 27, 2013 12:08:08 GMT -5
Although, I will say when my husband went to law school, they pumped his head full of so much shit, I started to hate lawyers too. He was proudly walking around telling me that lawyers can tell any profession how to do their jobs. If doctors end up in court, lawyers decide if he did his job. If scientists want to create a new drug, lawyers decide if it is acceptable or not. If engineers want to build a car, lawyers decide if it is safe enough.
My husband was a real dick for about 2 years. Some of his co-workers didn't have anyone to slap them.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2013 12:09:13 GMT -5
to be serious, I think people hate lawyers because they view them as a force against common sense. Laws cannot be be written to be common sense because some lawyer is going to exploit a hole in the law and twist it and turn it into something it was not meant to be to turn a profit for them and their client.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 27, 2013 12:09:25 GMT -5
Although, I will say when my husband went to law school, they pumped his head full of so much shit, I started to hate lawyers too. He was proudly walking around telling me that lawyers can tell any profession how to do their jobs. If doctors end up in court, lawyers decide if he did his job. If scientists want to create a new drug, lawyers decide if it is acceptable or not. If engineers want to build a car, lawyers decide if it is safe enough. My husband was a real dick for about 2 years. Some of his co-workers didn't have anyone to slap them. And my thought when they were telling us this was "What the fuck do I know about someone else's job?"
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 27, 2013 12:09:54 GMT -5
to be serious, I think people hate lawyers because they view them as a force against common sense. Laws cannot be be written to be common sense because some lawyer is going to exploit a hole in the law and twist it and turn it into something it was not meant to be to turn a profit for them and their client. Then the legislature should write better laws.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2013 12:18:13 GMT -5
Lawyers profit from pain. They also create pain when they drain your bank account.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Mar 27, 2013 12:20:02 GMT -5
Lawyers profit from pain. They also create pain when they drain your bank account. So they should just donate their services instead? Kind of how doctors operate on you for free and mechanics fix your car for free...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2013 12:23:01 GMT -5
to be serious, I think people hate lawyers because they view them as a force against common sense. Laws cannot be be written to be common sense because some lawyer is going to exploit a hole in the law and twist it and turn it into something it was not meant to be to turn a profit for them and their client. Then the legislature should write better laws. True, but very hard to do. Some lawyer will always figure out some hole. It is not the lawyers fault, it is the system's fault. that said, I think we have a good legal system. but the bottom line is that the laywer is seen as the guys that fuck it up for the rest of us.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2013 12:23:14 GMT -5
Lawyers profit from pain. They also create pain when they drain your bank account. So they should just donate their services instead? Kind of how doctors operate on you for free and mechanics fix your car for free... Oh please, what did mechanics or doctors ever do to be put in the same category as lawyers?
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Mar 27, 2013 12:24:52 GMT -5
I'd love to find lawyers that charge 200-250 an hour! What planet are they on? Most are 350-450.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Mar 27, 2013 12:25:47 GMT -5
I know why people hate lawyers. In general, you have to get a lawyer when something goes wrong in your life. Either you are declaring bankruptcy, or have been accused of a crime, or are getting a divorce, maybe someone died, or someone has wronged you so completely that you need help to force the law to make things right. These things are important, but sympathetic. All the other people in your life are rallying around you and trying to help, and feeling sorry for you. But the lawyers come up to at your time of need and give you a bill. Granted, you used their skills to try and fix a problem - but everyone else is bringing you cookies and listening to you vent for free. Not these guys - they have the audacity to kick you when you are down, by billing you. Shouldn't they help you out of the goodness of their hearts? I can see that, lawyers are not people you go hire when your life is going great. And sometimes they give you the raw, honest truth and shatter realities (no, you aren't getting that much child support, yes you have to split your retirement, you aren't getting the entire estate ect.) But Doctors are one of the most widely respected professions, but most people don't go to a doctor without some issue, so why are doctors generally more respected than lawyers? Cops are the same way, as are firefighters. Nobody wants to deal with a Cop. Either you're the victem of a crime or you're comitting a crime, either way you shouldn't be happy with a cop. I do agree with not being happy about paying a lawyer when you're down. When I hired mine, I was unemployed and money was really tight. I had to pay $2500 in legal fees at the worst possible time. But it wasn't a big deal, I know being a lawyer is a job and it's just business, it's not personal. I don't expect people to work on my behalf for free.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Mar 27, 2013 12:26:25 GMT -5
I'd love to find lawyers that charge 200-250 an hour! What planet are they on? Most are 350-450. Well, this lawyer was in Ohio, so the COLA was relatively low.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 27, 2013 12:26:45 GMT -5
I'd love to find lawyers that charge 200-250 an hour! What planet are they on? Most are 350-450. depends on where you live. around here, $200 to $250 is the normal. Also the billable hour concept is pretty stupid, IMO. We do a lot of flat fee retainers. Billable hours rewards inefficiency.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Mar 27, 2013 12:28:57 GMT -5
Michigan and Florida must not be.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Mar 27, 2013 12:32:22 GMT -5
I know we often give our legal system a lot of flack.
But overall, I think it's pretty good. In many countries, especially the bannana republics of the world, you can't get justice (or anything done in the government) unless you can bribe everyone in your path.
I think there's some shady stuff going on at the top with lobbying and government contracts and the like. But overall, the comman man can get stuff done in government without having to bribe in this country.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Mar 27, 2013 12:33:08 GMT -5
I get irritated with the ones whose staff call the house trying to find someone suffering from this or that condition for a lawsuit. I like regular attorneys, like the ones that do wills and look over real estate deals.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Mar 27, 2013 12:35:14 GMT -5
I get irritated with the ones whose staff call the house trying to find someone suffering from this or that condition for a lawsuit. I like regular attorneys, like the ones that do wills and look over real estate deals. *nods* yes, some of them are bad. The ambulance chasers and the like. But then there are your average everday hometown lawyers like swamp who do a real service to the people.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 27, 2013 12:36:43 GMT -5
Because doctors don't give you a bill, they give your insurance company a bill.
They also give you drugs.
But, as a whole, doctors are getting away with something with this whole insurance thing. People don't go around complaining about how much doctors earn, even when they earn a lot. But people sure complain about the profit of insurance companies. Lawyers don't get the joy of your prepayment coming out of your paycheck and then you only pay a $20 co-pay when you sprain your ankle. If you have only seen a doctor once a year, it costs you $3500, because that is what your premiums cost. But if you have to pay a lawyer $800, you will freak the deak out.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Mar 27, 2013 12:39:56 GMT -5
Phoenix said: Because most kids are taught from an early age to respect Doctors and Firefighters and police. Also kids may have some 'personal experience' with those professions - they go to the Doctor, they see/hear firetrucks and police cars. They are taught in an 'emergency' to call those kinds of people for help.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2013 12:40:05 GMT -5
Because doctors don't give you a bill, they give your insurance company a bill. They also give you drugs. But, as a whole, doctors are getting away with something with this whole insurance thing. People don't go around complaining about how much doctors earn, even when they earn a lot. But people sure complain about the profit of insurance companies. Lawyers don't get the joy of your prepayment coming out of your paycheck and then you only pay a $20 co-pay when you sprain your ankle. If you have only seen a doctor once a year, it costs you $3500, because that is what your premiums cost. But if you have to pay a lawyer $800, you will freak the deak out. If that were true, doctors would be hero's and worshiped in Canada and the UK.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 27, 2013 12:41:54 GMT -5
[/span]
Of course they wouldn't. We all know that the only **good** doctors are in the USA. And all the other doctors in the world, especially in countries with socialized medicine, are sub-par. Therefore, no one will worship them, because they are useless.
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