August 16, 2005

VANCOUVER - Fed-up with jokes that typecast them as ambulance-chasers or worse, Canada's lawyers are considering drastic means to rehabilitate their image, including striking a task force to find out why they "can't get no respect" from the public and punishing bad apples who tarnish the legal profession.

"Lawyers have a very good relationship with their own clients and are held in high regard, but in the collective consciousness of the public, they are not held in the highest regard," admitted Halifax lawyer Robert Patzelt, chairman of a Canadian Bar Association committee assigned to chart a new course for the 34,000-member group.

"In fact, there has been a deteriorating image and increasing lawyer jokes. That's of concern because when you are dealing with the judicial system ... you need that trust."

Mr. Patzelt said his committee wants lawyers to stop complaining about the problem and start talking to the public.

"They say 'Jeez, we are good people, we work hard and we are doing our best in a system, complete with all the frailties it has, yet our image out there isn't what it should be'," he said. "What we are proposing is to go out there and ask the people: 'Why is it that you don't like the legal system (and) why don't you like lawyers?' "

Mr. Patzelt's committee concluded that negative stereotyping of lawyers undermines public trust and drives away potential clients.

But the legal profession's poor image is also deeply distressing to lawyers who believe that their "aggregate hard work and social value," including extensive pro bono work and public interest advocacy, is largely ignored by the public, or is overshadowed by the few bad apple lawyers who steal their clients' money.

"In some cases, it was serious enough to cause lawyers to leave or think of leaving the profession," says the committee's report on the future of the legal profession.

Polls continue to show lawyers near the bottom of the heap when it comes to public esteem, far behind occupations such as firefighters or police officers.

This despite many campaigns by the bar association to try to polish its members' image.

If the bar association acts on its committee's recommendation for a "truth and reconciliation" task force comprising lawyers and non-lawyers, the aim will be to solicit concerns from the public and propose remedies to counter negative perceptions, said Mr. Patzelt.

"There is a certain amount of risk involved with this," he acknowledged.

"They may tell you things that you didn't really want to hear. But if you do hear them ... then you are in a position to say all right, 'These are things we have to do to correct those perceptions, and make things better.' "
© The Ottawa Citizen 2005