Lawyers - what do you think of them ?
As a member of the legal profession, I would like to know what people generally think about lawyers. I think a lot of views are wrong about lawyers.

Let's dispel a few myths -

only commercial lawyers earn bucket loads of money - newly qualified solicitors get £18000 to £22000 per year after around Sheffield - this is after 4 years of study - 2 years earning £13600 and borrowing c£8000 to pay for a post graduate course

it sometimes is the lawyers that slow the house buying/selling process - but that is all because they are trying to protect your position legally - too many people let their hearts rule their heads. searches and mortgage offers take much longer than peope think

Estate agents are d******s and that is why people get upset during conveyancing - they put a few adverts in newspapers and get paid twice as much as solcitors and do less

you only pay £100-£150 per hour for litigation - not everything that a solcitor does - an average house purchase will cost you around £400 - to protect your position in an investment of £110K - small price to pay

I have to say that I don't have too many opinions of lawyers - if you choose to do a job that reuires all the training and cost you mention you must want to do it for a reason.

I believe that as a society becomes more litigous, it becomes a worse society to live in. Many cultures, such as Japan until a few years ago, had the idea that to resort to law was to admit that you don't really trust the other party....:)

SO...why did you become a lawyer?

Joe

personally ive had a mixture of encounters with solicitors. the girl who sorted my RTA claim was ace, the ones dealing with my work claim are prats

only ever used them 3 times, sacked them twice and ended up doing the job myself, where else can you get a job where you get paid whether you win or lose ? mercenary types in my opinion

I intially thought about doing it because I thought it is a lucrative profession which people respected. Unfortunately, the respect has faded as people have been fed propoganda about how bad lawyers are.

Don't get me wrong - it still is a good paid job - A decent lawyer can earn c£30K pa a couple of years after qualifying

When I say bucket loads of money that commercial lawyers earn - I am talking c45k+ for lawyers with good quality experience

I'm all for dispelling the compensation culture - report in our legal magazine is that it's actually a myth and we are not that litigous. people think they can get away with all sorts which is why we have become litigous - If someone is at fault for something - they should pay for it - I'm against frivilous claims such as tripping (look where you're going) -

If someone ploughs into the back of your car - why should you not get the price of the repair of your car plus the expense of being put out by not having a car when its repaired - unfortunately because insurance companies think they can get away with it i.e. don't pay up or delay or deny liability - lawyers have to get involved - if ins co paid up they wouldn't be any need for lawyers -

people go to lawyers as their last resort when they have exhausted all avenues. Gone are the days where you just sue anyone - I advise clients to resolve it amicably first and if you don't the courts take a dim view and rollock you

no solicitor will take on cases where they are likely to lose - we don't get paid when we lose - hence no win no fee !!!

if you still want to sue when the solicitor advises you against it - you end up paying if you lose - makes sense ?

those who value their ego too much are the ones who lose money because they refuse to take good advice from us.

Originally posted by terrano
I intially thought about doing it because I thought it is a lucrative profession which people respected. Unfortunately, the respect has faded as people have been fed propoganda about how bad lawyers are.


Ha, ha, ha!! I have nothing against you personally, terrano, but you come across as very naive about your chosen profession.

Apart from anything else, I've worked in the past as a temp in a number of law offices (and I am a graduate by the way), and certainly the female solicitors have been amongst the most unpleasant and downright rude people I've ever had the misfortune of meeting.

Any thing else I have to say about lawyers is not fit for a family forum.

StarSparkle

PS I do agree with you about estate agents though.

I have a friend who's a solicitor. As a person he's a great bloke. As a solicitor he can be a bit difficult to get hold of and forgetful and a bit slow at times.
People are not their profession though, so whatever you think about 'lawyers' makes no difference when you meet them in the pub, if you see what i'm getting at.

Originally posted by Cyclone
I have a friend who's a solicitor. As a person he's a great bloke. As a solicitor he can be a bit difficult to get hold of and forgetful and a bit slow at times.
People are not their profession though, so whatever you think about 'lawyers' makes no difference when you meet them in the pub, if you see what i'm getting at.

I would hope I'd never see some of the lawyers I've come across in a pub, or anywhere else - they're not the sort of people I'd want to socialise with. I don't believe it's possible to completely 'divorce' your social self from your working self, and if someone CAN do that then I think I'd be very nervous of them.

The contempt I've seen some solicitors treat people with is horrible, and if that's how you treat people in your working life, I don't believe you can just switch it off.

I agree, tital searches and morgages take a lot of work, but the secretary does all that, and the lawyer get paid for it.

Originally posted by poppins
I agree, tital searches and morgages take a lot of work, but the secretary does all that, and the lawyer get paid for it.

the partnership does all that, and the partnership gets paid for it.

It just happens that the solicitor involved might be a partner in the firm, although not necessarily.
The secretary carries none of the financial risk of the firm and gets paid a salary. It's not like it's an unusual business model or anything.

the reason why they treat people with contempt is because they get frustrated when people think they know better than their lawyers - why employ them if you can do it better.

Would I dream of telling a surgeon how he should cut somebody up - no. so why do people think they can tell me how to do my job.

You will find that people who treat you with respect will get 5 star treatment - people who treat me like I'm beneath them will get the same treatment from me - they still get the right advice but in a less friendly manner.

re getting difficult to get hold of - say 50 clients ring everyday - everyone wants to speak to the solicitor - 5 mins each on telephone - 250 mins - 4 hours - when he's talking to clients updating them but not actually working on their case - so what i do is ignore the clients - get their work done instead (what they employ me to do)

also most people pay about £400 for a transaction that might last 3-6 months and they think for that they can get to speak to the solictor whenevr they want -

the only people in life you can actually speak to are the ones who sit on their a**e, do nothing and earn money (estate agents) - that's why you can speak to them.

I can and do switch off when I finish work - You would not think I am a lawyer if you met me - I socialise with drug dealers, builders, lawyers (obviously not at the same time)

I found that the best way to contact him (when he was doing some work for my brother) was to pop around to his house in the evening.

It's not actually that difficult to return a call when a message has been left with the secretary, and it gives a v bad impression when you don't, consistently.

Do you ever question whether, in a civil case, your client is 'right'?

Do you ever think that the defendant might be a 'can't pay' rather than a 'won't pay'?

Just interested....

I appreciate that you're paid NOT to think about the other guy in the equation, but does it ever cross your mind?

Joe

cyclone - you say it's not difficult to return a call but what happens when 50 clients a day want return calls - it does get difficult then !
If my job was purely returning calls to people then fine I would but my job is to move people not to provide updates whenever the client feels like it - and then throw a barny when he can't speak to me.

Back in the old days when you got paid well - you had time to update clients - but now because it's so cheap you have to take on more work to make the same money - hence less time for clients more focus on the job at hand

Terrano
Sorry we all gave you a hard time just because of your profession, we alll need a lawyer at some time or another,

But the Forum members take no prisoners !

you never be ruled by emotions - we are detached which is why people don't like it when you tell it how it is

If you are thinking about suing you have to think whether he is right cos if he's wrong somebody is going to lose a lot of money

can't/won't pay - if he can't - no point suing him - won't - sue him if he has money - institutions - always sue - should be covered by insurance provided you have a valid case

always think about the other guy !! but not at the expense of your own client