Legalese

The other day, one of our new clients drove me over the edge. I work at an Estate and Business Planning Law office as a legal assistant. Essentially, it is our job to help save our clients’ money and help them make even more. This particular client had a complete distrust and misguided idea of ALL attorneys and lawyers. He had the audacity to group all lawyers together as “just in it to make money.” He was asserting that after his death, when his estate was probated, that the attorneys who would handle his probate would “milk” his estate and “steal” all of his money for themselves. 

I had calmly tried to reassure him that not all attorneys are “just going to take his money,” and that in fact, many would try to help him save as much money as he could. But he wouldn’t listen. He was wholly convinced that all lawyers are evil and “only want to make money.” (He was also convinced that doctors will make whatever medical decisions so as to make the most amount of money. *face palm*) 

I find his logic flawed on many levels. His premise of “lawyers only in it to make money” is simply flawed and untrue. The overarching goal of almost any profession is to make money. It is not just lawyers, doctors, engineers, CEOs, or anyone else who makes a substantial amount of money. The goal of a burger flipper at McDonalds is to make money. And by his logic, anyone who is out there to make money is evil. Essentially, this guy, with his unsound logic, is asserting that he himself is evil because he has a job to make money. Sure, attorneys can often charge quite a bit of money for the services they provide, but they usually know what they are doing more often than the average citizen, and can therefore help save that citizen a lot of money by travelling the system efficiently and correctly. 

The work my office provides may cost more up front, but it will end up saving the client money in the long run. As a person who is planning to pursue the path of law, I find it personally offensive when someone asserts things of the above referenced nature. For, they are in turn insulting me and asserting that I have wholly selfish goals with my career choice. On the contrary, the entire reason I decided to pursue law was to help those who can’t help themselves in a way that I best could: with my mind and words. 

So the next time you or someone you know starts thinking or talking about how “evil” all attorneys are, remember attorneys that help people save money, attorneys that put murderers and rapists in jail, attorneys that fight for human rights across the globe, and attorneys like Atticus Finch-fictional though he may be-there are attorneys out there who fight for is right.

*Disclaimer: I am not asserting that all attorneys and lawyers are good. Just like any other profession, religion, or human being: some are good, some are bad, and some are in between.