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Why Is An Honest Lawyer A Mythological Creature?
By: Donna Ray Berkelhammer. This was posted Friday, February 13th, 2009
Loading ...Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, an honest lawyer, and an old drunk were walking along when they simultaneously spotted a hundred-dollar bill laying in the street. Who gets it?
The old drunk, of course, the other three are mythological creatures.
One of the things I struggle with most as a lawyer is the low regard with which attorneys are held. We are liars, pitbulls, cheats, and all going straight to hell.
As a profession, we are trained to zealously advocate for our clients. I suppose zealous to one side might seem aggressive or obnoxious to the other.
I try to combat this prejudice by convincing one person at a time that I am honest, diligent, reasonable, and here to help. I also try to give back to the community in a professional capacity wherever possible. That means serving on non-profit boards, pointing people toward appropriate resources, and volunteering. This past year, I’ve been able to help coordinate a couple free legal clinics for small businesses.
Members of the Durham County Bar Association and the NC Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Project (NC LEAP) are teaming up to provide a small business legal clinic on Friday, March 6, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Clinic will be held at the Durham Tech Small Business Center:
The SOUTHBank Building
400 West Main St.
Durham, NC 27701
Small business owners will have the opportunity to spend up to one hour with business attorneys and have them answer questions on a number of topics including entity choice, intellectual property, contracts, employment law and more. Please call 919-536-7241 to make an appointment. Space is limited and reservations are strongly encouraged.
But back to my main point. What gives lawyers such a bad rap? I’d love to hear your opinions and experiences.
Tags: Durham County Bar Association, free legal clinic, honesty, lawyer jokes, NC LEAP, small business clinic
It’s a good question, Donna, and really hard to give a short answer to. It’s important to note, as yesterday was the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, that his nickname “Honest Abe” was promulgated as a defense against the reputation of his profession: lawyer. These opinions about the questionable integrity of lawyers are as old as dirt.
Posted by: Russell Lawson | February 13th, 2009 at 4:10 pmHere’s another view to my question, in a blog by attorney Brian Tannenbaum:
http://mylawlicense.blogspot.com/2009/02/theres-positive-side-of-lawyer.html
Posted by: Donna Ray Chmura | February 23rd, 2009 at 8:25 am