Kill all the lawyers?

Regarding this recent hullaboo with "Seedy" Gonzales, I'm seeing a lot of lawyer jokes. (Thankfully, I have'nt seen any on DU-but you can go to "speakout" on Pox news and see plenty)

Why do people seem to forget that if it was'nt for lawyers, America would not exist as it does today? (How many of the founding fathers were lawyers? Who presecuted Duke Cunningham? Who would have put a boot up Nixon's ass if it had'nt been for Ford?) Most Lawyers provide a valuable service to the country, and even the ones that some people love to hate (i.e., divorce lawyers) are only doing what they were hired to do. That is: Look out for the best interests on their clients. Sure, the legal profession has some bad apples, but then again so does the medical profession, the clergy, manufacturing, etc.

I think lawyers are for the most part an honorable bunch of people. But even those who claim to hate lawyers, will sometimes change their tune...

When they need one.

an overworked, underpaid ADA. He's not making a killing, doesn't drive a hot car (doesn't even own one) or live in fancy digs. He's just a public servant trying to work for justice. He'd probably love to be a US Attorney.

As you said, there are lots of scumbags out there that make for jokes and a bad rap for attorneys. But my experience has been positive for what it's worth.

Mz Pip
:dem:

Clinton, Obama, and Edwards.

America is (or is at least intended to be) a nation of laws, and lawyers can be instrumental in keeping things fair, honest and legal.

Many lawyers (myself included) give hundreds of hours of free legal work every year to those who cannot afford it (like indigent divorces or step-parent adoptions) or who cannot arrange it for themselves (like Guantanamo inmates).

Seriously, though, I always thought that sentiment had its historical root with a certain type of person being "concerned" about being "taken" by people of a particular religious/racial persuasion. There's a "colloquial" term for it too.

the founding fathers were lawyers?

They were lawyers who defended the wrongfully accused and their rights under the law. There were several similar shows during the 1960s and early 1970s. Today, it seems that the only lawyers who are shown to be heroic on TV are those putting the guilty behind bars. I know there's tremendous corruption in the legal profession, along with the corruption of the medical profession, particularly in the personal injury field. But for the most part, the culture of our society has now branded most attorneys as the bad guy, whereas I can remember as a kid that attorneys were often seen as heroes.

The ones we deal with go above and beyond, God luv em.

Sheesh.