Sue Wyatt (city unknown) writes:

You once answered a question about why lawyers have a reputation for dishonesty. Could you please publish it again?

Marilyn responds:

Sure. Here it is:

Paige Andre-Hudson of De Funiak Springs, Fla., wrote: “Why do you think lawyers, as a group, have such a universal reputation for dishonesty? Could it be because the group has a disproportionate number of dishonest members?”

I replied: “I’ve laughed at ‘lawyer’ jokes myself, but when I look at the subject more objectively, I don’t find evidence that attorneys are any less honest than the members of other occupational groups. Maybe one of the reasons they’ve developed that reputation is that their professional ethics require them to go to extreme lengths to defend even the most reprehensible characters in society, and this behavior has received broad exposure since the advent of television in the courtroom. (Note that we never denounce lawyers who defend the best of us.) Even in less sensational appearances, we routinely see attorneys trying to cast each other as liars, opportunists, and worse. But because it’s part of the standard operating procedure, it doesn’t tell us much about them as individuals. So if we’re going to level ethical criticism and press for change, it makes more sense to target the principles of the legal profession itself, not the conduct of its members.”