Barely a third of Americans think lawyers are trustworthy, and the legal profession’s reputation has not improved much in recent years.
This is according to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey.
The report showed that only 35% of American adults said they trust lawyers, while 32% said they did not trust them. Another 33% were not sure.
The good news for lawyers is that these findings are slightly improved from 2018, when they were trusted by only 29% of likely voters.
The bad news is, people who have experience with lawyers trust them even less than those who have never hired a lawyer.
Sixty-five percent (65%) of Americans have used a lawyer at some point, while 31% say they haven’t.
Among those who have used a lawyer, 35% don’t trust them, compared to 28% among those who haven’t used a lawyer.
A majority of Americans believe frivolous lawsuits are adding to the costs of health care and other goods and services.
To see survey question wording, click here.
I HAVE BEN SOLED OUT BY LAWYERS SO MANY TIMES /AND SOME OF THEM TIMES THEY LEFT THE PROOF BEHIND
Most of the politicians and presidents have been lawyers. Why trust them?
I have practiced civil law for 45 years. For every lawsuit there’s a lawyer on the opposing side who is dedicated to a result that will financially damage the opponent. So, it should be expected that litigants distrust all lawyers on the opposing side, Ie: 50% of those one deals with. As a profession, we’ve hurt our credibility in multiple ways, the list of which varies with one’s political bent and background. During my 45 years there were lawyers I distrusted but the percentage is small compared to those I would distrust in any profession other than medicine.
Our greatest defense against governmental or other organized tyranny is lawyers who fight tooth and nail to protect our rights. It’s our job as lawyers to do that, to police our profession, and stand for the rule of law, whether we are popular or not.