I get it. Lawyers aren't winning any popularity contests. We're perceived somewhere between used car salesmen and that guy who takes up two spots in the parking lot. The lawyer jokes never stop. ("What do you call 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start." "Why don’t sharks attack lawyers? Professional courtesy." I've heard them all.)
Let's be honest—some of us deserve the reputation. There are the ambulance chasers, the bill-padding specialists, and the ones who love to say "it depends" just to sound smart, to cover their rears, or to justify billing you another 0.2. There are bad lawyers out there, just like there are bad doctors, bad mechanics, and bad cooks who somehow manage to screw up an order of scrambled eggs.
But most of us? We're just out here trying to do our jobs. We help businesses avoid legal landmines, protect employees from getting screwed over, defend the wrongly accused, and make sure your contracts don't leave you broke. We help people keep their homes, fight back against unfair treatment, and—whether you like it or not—tell you when you're about to make a really bad decision.
No profession bats 1.000. Not all lawyers are great. But some of us are. You shouldn't trash all of the apples just because there are a bad one or few in the bunch. And imagine a world without us. Trust me, it wouldn't be better.
Hate us if you want, but when things go sideways, we're the ones you will call. And we'll be there, even if you've spent years making lawyer jokes or defending Donald Trump's efforts to go after us for doing our jobs.