According to a recent publication by the Center for Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association, the public mistrusts lawyers as much as ever, especially when it comes to value and efficiency. In other words, we think lawyers cost a lot of money and that they spend a lot of time running up our bill without producing much in the way of results. A Gallup poll in 2008 found that only 18 percent of the people surveyed would rate the honesty or ethical standards of lawyers as “high” or “very high.” Physicians, on the other hand, garnered a rating of 64 percent (also somewhat disappointing). Another survey found that 69 percent agreed that lawyers are more interested in making money than serving their clients, and 57 percent believe that  lawyers are more concerned with self-promotion than the best interests of their clients. This sort of begs the question of why any mother would want their son (or daughter) to grow up and be a lawyer!

I put these statistics out there not only as food for thought but also to answer my critics. My, I think thou dost protest too much!

Hopefully, the holidays have been pleasant for all of you and 2010 will bring positive outcomes. To the extent that your outcomes tend to the negative and that lawyers contribute to those outcomes, stay tuned.