A question that has recently entered my mind...

[Lola]

Driveing home from the grocery store, I half-listened to a commercial on the radio.

It was all about this person and that person... caught in financial or rights violations who were helped by lawyers... the end result was to infer that the lawyers are there to help etc. etc.

That got me thinking... is that their only purpose? To help people when the system or other individuals try to screw people over?

What I am getting at... is... do lawyers contribute... ANYTHING other than that?

If we lived in a perfect society... would their be any need for the lawyer?

[Mitera Nikkou]

A society nearing perfection would need a much simpler law system to go along with a severe decrease in the need to apply the law. The one redeeming trait for lawyers is that it's their business to know a lot of various laws, procedures and technical details and jargon that the average person doesn't get a chance to learn for one reason or another. I believe that you also need them for law-binding deals and contracts and other ways in which something is made recognized by the law as yours, among other things.

[Rowan]

Lawyers are the Advocates in any system where the Rule of Law is used. You know that famous line, "Kill all the lawyers"? The reason for it, or so I'm told I haven't actually read or seen that play myself yet, was because it was the first step in abolishing Rule of Law.

Lawyers are Advocates of the people. Ideally their job is to make sure everything is fair for everyone involved. However, with the growing number of lawyers vs. the same amount of need for lawyers they need to find work for themselves and you end up people suing eachother over stupid crud.

[Helel]

I generally agree with what Nikkou and Rowan mentioned about lawyers being workers for the people, by knowing the Rule of Law and whatnot, in addition to the people needed for sealing contracts and such.

While many times on the news, we hear about one stupid lawsuit or another, you have to understand that for the VAST majority of lawyers out there are doing their best to serve peoples' legal needs. That's really what it boils down to.

Again, think of it this way as well: for all the beef people will put on lawyers for being demons, greedy, or being silly for representing stupid lawsuits, imagine what it's like for lawyers. After all, in some cases, the LAW says that they have to put up with these ridiculous cases, represent serial murderers. granted, they're paid handsomely for their services, they have to deal with some of the worst that society has to offer.

So yeah, unless we lived in an ideal society, there will always be a need for lawyers, and even then, lawyers carry many other uses than just dealing with laws or what-have-you.

Note: If that sounds incoherent, I apologize, I just woke up a while ago. XD

[Coruscate]

Lawyers are like doctors, politicians and burger flippers.

Nice ones. Bad ones. All types.

But since they're selling a service, and they compete for your business among other lawyers, they need to make themselves look happy to help you, competent and professional.