Do lawyers get a bad rap?

Are Our Lawyers Simply Bad, Or Is There Something Else Going On?

Americans say they place little trust in the legal profession. But is that reputation justified? And what — if anything — can legal marketers do to help set the record straight?

Most Americans think lawyers are dishonest and unethical. At least, that is, until they themselves are in need of a good one.

According to a Gallup survey, nurses, doctors, and pharmacists — those in the medical helping professions — get all the love. They score the highest marks for honesty and ethics from ordinary Americans.

Lawyers? Not so much.

The only people they public trusts less than attorneys are business executives, stockbrokers, ad execs, telemarketers, car salesmen, and — well — their members of Congress. Not exactly the best of company.

But why?

Are lawyers — a tribe that’s supposedly dedicated to fair treatment under the law, due process, and the pursuit of justice — really that bad? Or is there something else going on here?

Do lawyers — especially those here in the United States — get a bad rap?

Our lawyers or our legal system?

In America, as in most common law nations, we have an adversarial system of justice. That means two sides — each represented by legal counsel — argue their respective positions before a court. Judges and juries sit in judgment as impartial deciders — not, as in many parts of the world, as “inquisitors” of litigants and witnesses.

This system has its benefits: It entitles everyone to independent counsel. Everyone can “make their case” before the law. And, ultimately, before a jury of their peers — if/when things go that far.

But it also means that for every “winner” in our courts there’s also a “loser”. That that naturally means that a full one-half of the people who walk into our judicial system often walk out unhappy with the outcome.

Lawyers represent. Ideally, effectively. They must be honest, but they don’t have to be altogether truthful. Under our laws, honesty and truthfulness aren’t altogether the same thing. Being honest means not telling lies. Being truthful means actively making known the full truth of a matter.

Lawyers are duty-bound to be honest. But they aren’t obligated to fully truthful — sharing with the court or the parties everything they know. Within our adversarial legal system, this lack of transparency has its advantages. But it is a disadvantage to the reputation of some types of lawyers, particularly those who litigate cases in court.

As for the lawyers themselves?

Sure, these are some bad apples. Corrupt lawyers still make the news. That said, strong credentialing standards, ethics bodies, and a competitive marketplace go a long way toward keeping today’s attorney honest, responsible, and accountable to clients.

Ask most any lawyer and they’ll likely admit that the confrontational, fighting-nature of the work they do doesn’t always make them the most pleasant person to be around. Being sometimes thought of as “kind-of-a-jerk” is a common occupational hazard.

All things considered, it seems sensible to ask:

Are American lawyers being judged harshly for aspects of the U.S. legal system that are simply beyond their control?

Perhaps.

And yet American doctors, year after year, are among the most trusted professionals in our economy. And no one can say that the U.S. healthcare system is without its share of big challenges.

Do you know a single legal marketer worth their salt who would even dare claim that marketing alone (however effective) can make Joe & Jane Public trust lawyers more?

I don’t.

Strong marketing & business development can do lots of things.

•  It can help potential clients on the journey toward effective representation find it.
•  It can help great lawyers share their expertise, experience, and — most importantly — their authentic voice with the communities they serve.
•  It can speed-up the ultimate delivery of justice under the law.

Shift the cultural zeitgeist? Change the minds of millions? ‘Make the case’ only lawyers themselves can over the course of decades? No, nope, and never.

And yet those of us privileged enough to spend our days helping connect great lawyers with their ideal clients CAN do something.

That something must always be built upon this fundamental truth:

Lawyers do justice.

Granted, they often do lots of other good things too. But first and foremost, their work is about justice — articulating it, fighting for it, securing it. Everything else about their practice of law in the service of others flows from there.

As it must for the legal marketer.

Like many of you, I’ve marketed other professional services over the course of my career.

Accountants must get the books right, otherwise investors (and the taxman) can’t rely on them. The result? The capital markets don’t work as they should. (Research shows that accountants are thought to be far more trustworthy than their legal counterparts. Perhaps that’s because CPAs seem to deal in the concreteness of numbers, not the ambiguity of ideas. But would the public feel differently if they knew just how many actually game-the-system on behalf of their clients — albeit “within the rules”?)

Management consultants shape the future of companies, their consumer brands, and the workforces that support them. (Indeed, sometimes those consultants shape the future of entire industries!) And yet their advice is based primarily on market trends and what’s financially or technologically possible — not on what’s legally sanctioned or aligned with broader issues of public policy.

Recruiters help organizations meet their talent goals, and help bring the right people into the right job roles. But issues of law and justice are always secondary if they arise at all.

Architects & Engineers design and build the physical future of public and private spaces. It’s about aesthetics, efficacy, form, function. But, most often, they’re not dealing with issues of life & death or personal & societal justice.

Don’t get me wrong. All of this work is important, and the roles essential. It’s all been important to me throughout my career — and yours if you’ve marketed professional services for a living.

And yet.

Only lawyers…

It is only lawyers who are responsible for helping to secure justice under the law. In our society, it is only lawyers who are formally tasked with doing justice.

Justice for moms & dads, sons & daughters, husbands & wives, employees, managers, citizens, shareholders, customers, property owners, contract-holders… the sick, the injured, the falsely accused.

In a world where technology is ascendant — and software is said to be “eating” all — it is still only the Law, as expressed in Constitution, court decisions, statutes, executive action, or regulation, that sets the parameters for how we deal with one another.

And it is only lawyers who are given the responsibility to interpret, share, and represent when we disagree on how those laws play out in our individual and collective lives.

So, as we strive each day as marketers to bring the skill & experience of our lawyers to those who need it… often in the midst of a strained and misunderstood system.

Let’s keep this singular truth front and center…

#LawyersDoJustice

Everything we do on behalf of the counselors we serve must flow from there.

 

Erik helps #LawyersDoJustice by creating legal #ContentMarketing that connects great lawyers with their ideal clients. A trained lawyer, Erik served clients as a management consultant, later marketing professional services for PwC — one of the world’s leading accounting & consulting firms. He strategizes, writes, edits, and measures ROI for clients from his home in Orange County, CA. He’s happiest at work when helping counselors find their #AuthenticVoices.