Week 2 EOC : What do I think of Lawyers?

After watching the movie “Erin Brockovich,” the question was asked: What do you think of lawyers?

Lawyers certainly serve a purpose. As in the case of the people of Higley in the movie, they were there to defend the “little guy” against a huge deep-pocket corporation. This corporation was worth 28-billion dollars and certainly had the power to keep these people quiet unless a law firm of intelligent people motivated by the pursuit of truth and justice were to step in. Not a huge law firm necessarily, just one interested in doing right for people who fall victim to powerful corporations. This type of law requires work and lots of it. Extensive research and interviews, pouring through countless documents and listening to endless testimonials. And to top that off, some of these law firms will do this kind of work for free.

There’s another type of lawyer. The one commonly referred to as an ambulance chaser, or a bottom-feeding, scum-sucking, slime-bag in some cases. These lawyers find it easier to go after the easy money. They don’t help people, they prey on people. They look for car accident victims, slip and fall accidents, and old ladies that spill coffee on themselves. In particular, they look for rich companies to blame for someone’s negligence while using their products. This gives the overall term “Lawyer” a bad image in most people’s minds and certainly casts a negative light on a good lawyer who really just wants to make an honest dollar.

So, what do I think of Lawyers? I think they’re great… When YOU need them. When YOU hired one. When YOU were taken advantage of etc. Not when they came to you with a neck brace and a cane. Lawyers are a necessary evil in a society governed by an extensive list of laws where no one could possibly be expected to know all of them. Lawyers strike a balance in the system and if we didn’t have them we’d be in trouble.