Can You Trust a Lawyer? Does it Matter? By Ian Wilson LL.B

I have not seen the statistics for Australia, but my guess it will be not as bad as the litigious United States: 32 percent of adult Americans do not trust lawyers, 35 percent do trust lawyers, and 33 percent are undecided/uncertain.

Well, even here it could be worse, as at least a bare majority trust lawyers. But I wonder if this matters? In fact, not trusting lawyers is a good thing for clients since it will keep them alert, sharp and scrutinising, which is needed. Trust can at times be blind and dumb, and people may not get the legal service they deserve as the lawyer may go to sleep on the case, or drag his/her feet. So, I am not concerned about the age-old complaint that lawyers are not to be trusted. What matters, is not breaking the law, and getting the job done.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/can_you_trust_a_lawyer?utm_campaign=RR08172022DN&utm_source=criticalimapct&utm_medium=email

“Barely a third of Americans think lawyers are trustworthy, and the legal profession’s reputation hasn’t improved much in recent years.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that only 35% of American Adults trust lawyers, while 32% don’t and another 33% aren’t sure. 

The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on August 1-2, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.”