The legal profession has strived to be a column of justice and fairness. However, the public general perception of lawyers has been poor. There are a number of interesting studies that have analyzed these perceptions. Stereotypically, the public seems to highly dislike lawyers. Encouragingly, however, the public’s perception of the lawyers they have worked with show a different result. As you read through this article consider what we, as lawyers, could or should do to raise the public’s perception.
Recently the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of over 4,000 Americans about their perception of different careers. To no surprise, the perception of contributions by lawyers was very low. As a law student or someone considering entering into the legal profession you may have hard the poor perception towards lawyers.
According to the study, in 2009 Americans’ perception was that lawyers contributed 23% to society’s well-being. In 2013 this number dropped to 18%. The results may be accessed here.
However, how can we interpret “contributions to society”? There are many interpretations that we may think about. This article focuses on only one yet widespread interpretation. Please note that there are many other interpretations of “contribution to society,” such as pro bono work. The interpretation relates to the integrity of the legal profession.
The integrity of the legal profession has always been at odds with the public’s perception of how attorneys do their work. There are many lawyer jokes, which I have been told many people think are true, highlight this particular problem.
As lawyers we are familiar with our responsibilities and duties to our clients. A law student applying for the bar understands that lawyers and law students must show honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, and reliability. See Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners. A key purpose of the lawyer profession, as identified by the Minnesota Rules of Professional Responsibility is to maintain the integrity of the profession. See Rules 8.1-8.5. For example, a theme throughout the ethics rules is to put the client first and make no false statements.
However, the public does not share these. The perception of the lawyers’ work and billing is low.
Who the attorney represents contributes to this negative perception. Forbes, for instance, states “People hate lawyers because they represent the interests of people and corporations without really caring who they are, what they did, what harm they caused, or, how culpable they are.” It’s OK to Hate Lawyers, (Jan. 18, 2013). It is unfortunate that sometimes the public fails to understand that everyone is entitled to legal representation.
The American Bar Association’s publication titled Public Perceptions of Lawyers: Consumer Research Findings (Apr. 2002) provides comprehensive feedback regarding the public’s negative perception of lawyers. This survey was conducted in January 2002 and surveyed 450 Americans.
One of the main issues outlined by the ABA is billing practices. The ABA’s article reports:
What we learned is both troubling and reassuring. While most Americans say that lawyers are knowledgeable about the law and can help clients navigate the legal system, they are uncertain how to tell a good lawyer form a bad one, dissatisfied with the ways lawyers communicate with them and confused about how lawyers bill for their services.
One surveyed individual explained this problem:
My lawyer told me that for a divorce, to set up the paperwork was going to be $750-$1,000. By the time I was through with it, it was $7,000. I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t in there through most of it.
The ABA’s findings also provided other negative perceptions, which are important to be aware of.
- Americans say that lawyers are greedy, manipulative, and corrupt. Personal experiences with lawyers substantiate these beliefs. Consumers tell stories of lawyers who misrepresent their qualifications, overpromise, are not upfront about their fees, charge too much for their services, take too long to resolve matters, and fail to return client phone calls.
- Americans are also uncomfortable with the connections that lawyers have with politics, the judiciary, government, big business, and law enforcement. These connections imbue lawyers with a certain degree of power in society. Americans believe that the central place of lawyers in society enables them not only to play the system, but also to shape that very system.
- Americans also believe that lawyers do a poor job of policing themselves. Bar associations are not viewed as protectors of the public or the public interest, but as clubs to protect lawyers.
The surveyed Americans outlined some of the reasons for these negative perceptions.
- 74% of Americans believe that lawyers are more interested in winning than in seeing that justice is served.
- 73% of Americans believe that lawyers spend too much time finding technicalities to get criminals released.
- 69% of Americans believe that lawyers are more interested in making money than in serving their clients.
- 57% of Americans believe that lawyers are more concerned with their own self-promotion than their client’s best interests.
- 51% of Americans believe that the public would be better off with fewer lawyers.
- 40% of Americans believe that lawyers do not keep clients informed of the progress of their case.
In the other hand, there are results that provide important feedback about what the public does like about lawyers.
- 39% of Americans believe that most lawyers try to serve the public interests well.
- 28% of Americans believe that the best lawyers are selected to serve as judges.
- 26% of Americans believe that the legal profession does a good job of disciplining lawyers.
As you may have noticed, these percentages are very low. Even though there are many comments that are negative, several individuals recognize this is a stereotype. For example, the ABA surveyed individuals reported the following positive beliefs.
- 59% of Americans believe that most lawyers are knowledgeable about the law and are interested in serving their clients.
- 34% of Americans believe that lawyers deserve the bad reputation they have.
An encouraging result, from two different studies, indicates that there is an increase Americans’ positive perceptions of the lawyers they have worked with.
- In 2002, an LJS study (300 individuals surveyed) found that 58% of Americans reported they were very satisfied with the service the lawyer provided. In 1998, an ABA study (1,000 individuals surveyed) found that 53% of Americans reported they were very satisfied with the service the lawyer provided.
- In 2002, an LJS study found that 18% of Americans reported they were somewhat satisfied with the service the lawyer provided. In 1998, an ABA study found that 23% of Americans reported they were somewhat satisfied with the service the lawyer provided.
- In 2002, an LJS study found that 8% of Americans reported they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the service the lawyer provided. In 1998, an ABA study found that 4% of Americans reported they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the service the lawyer provided.
- In 2002, an LJS study found that 3% of Americans reported they were somewhat dissatisfied with the service the lawyer provided. In 1998, an ABA study found that 9% of Americans reported they were somewhat dissatisfied with the service the lawyer provided.
- In 2002, an LJS study found that 9% of Americans reported they were very dissatisfied with the service the lawyer provided. In 1998, an ABA study found that 11% of Americans reported that they were very dissatisfied with the service the lawyer provided.
Some of the popular explanations for this positive increase in perceptions are as follows. The surveyed Americans (300 individuals in a LJS Jan. 2002 survey) reported they were very satisfied with the following qualities of the lawyers they worked with:
- The attorneys were knowledgeable in the law (75%).
- The attorneys handed the initial conversation well (68%).
- The attorneys were upfront about their fees and how they would charge the client (68%).
- The attorneys were sensitive to the clients’ needs and concerns (65%).
- The attorneys were proactive in protecting and serving the interests of the client (62%).
- The clients were very satisfied with the fees the attorneys actually charged them (62%).
- The advice the lawyer gave the clients (61%).
- How quickly the lawyer worked to resolve the issue (56%).
- How well the lawyer kept the clients informed of their case (53%).
All of these studies bring us to the question posed at the beginning of this article. What can we, as attorneys, do to help increase public perception?
Most importantly, we must strive to do a better job in communicating with our clients. For example, you could explain that for a while the case will not move until you hear from a judge, which might be in 2 months. For example, in one case the clients wanted to receive monthly letters confirming there was no movement in their case because we were still waiting for opposing counsel’s or the court’s response.
Similarly, we must address the biggest concern of the public. You must do a better job of explaining attorney fees and costs, how these fees and costs are calculated, and provide easier to read and understand billing invoices.
We must raise public awareness and increase our communication with our clients. For instance, if you are presenting or talking with a public individual or audience, you could educate them about how to handle legal problems. If you are invited to give a speech to a specific audience or to teach a class to non-lawyers, you could explain how the legal process works and alternatives that are available for them.
When helping individuals understand how to handle their legal problems, you could direct them to a government organization or non-profit organization that could address their issue. Alternatively, you could guide them on how to look for an attorney or refer them to attorneys that could work with their issue. In the employment context, you could direct them to Minnesota NELA or to the Minnesota State Bar Association.
