Everybody who doesn’t practice law, and quite a few who do, has a joke or complaint about lawyers. Why do we make so much fun of them? There is a lot of truth behind some of the worst jokes. Some of the most generous people I know are lawyers, impeccably ethical and thoroughly moral. Yet the lawyers who are not stand out so egregiously that they become the definition of the profession for the rest of us. That is sad, but worse is the resistance of the practitioners of law to do anything to change the things that are bad.
When a lawyer becomes your attorney of record, he stands between you and the court. Nothing may be presented to the court except through him. If he does not make the effort to present the case desired by the litigant, you do not have your say, he does. The legal definition of due process of law is the right to be heard in a meaningful manor in a meaningful time. If that gatekeeper refuses to put forth your full story, you do not have due process.
How common is this? In my personal experience, I have had five different lawyers represent me in court. Of those five, only one listened to me before filing motions or other papers and running with the case. The one who heard me out only used some of the things I wanted to present. In each of those cases, my case was lost before the judge’s ruling by the lack of presentation. I have done an informal poll of others with similar contact with the courts. Each person with whom I spoke had a similar experience with lawyers who didn’t present their full case but only the minimum that was expedient.
Among those who practice law there is an adage, “Go with the money.” If you don’t have the money, many lawyers won’t go with you.
Many people tell me there are a lot of good lawyers out there, and I hope they are right. My answer to them each time is always the same, “Introduce me to one. All I need is one lawyer willing to do good in my own case.” Somehow they never do. It seems easy to declare there are good lawyers, but hard to find them. Mercenary, sociopathic, narcissistic, these are all qualities attributed to the practitioners of law. Altruistic, generous, helpful, these are all qualities the practitioners of law apply to themselves. Am I the only person who sees the disconnect?
To all the legal practitioners who read this, I urge you to listen to your clients, even if they don’t have a huge bank account. Treat people as if their value were intrinsic to their humanity and not the sum of their assets. Give your clients their say in court so that they can have the due process you pride yourselves on championing. There is no reason for the practice of law to be view as parasitical.
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