On Lawyers

“The legal system has been devised around the world for lawyers to take advantage of ordinary citizens.” Discuss There has always been a tendency to steer clear of tribunals and law courts because of the cumbersome bureaucracy and greedy lawyers. Settling accounts out of court is a cost-effective solution to some disagreements, even if that means complying with unfair terms. It is thought that taking the case to court will probably turn out to be costlier than what has actually been lost. It is only when settlement proves impossible that the affected parties lawyer up and go to court. Why are we so wary of our legal system? The aim of this essay is to discuss how the legal system has been devised to enable lawyers to take advantage of ordinary citizens.

Firstly, there is to consider how the legal language has evolved. Legal language has always been an enigma to lay people. In England, the Norman Conquest in 1066 placed French-speaking Normans in virtually all important positions; French thus became the language of power. Virtually, all English words relating to government and law are originally French. As royal courts were logically conducted in French, the majority of the population, who spoke Anglo-Saxon, did not understand the proceedings. The only way for a person to verify that a document was genuine was seeing the royal seal imprinted on it. This situation left the ordinary citizen in an acutely vulnerable position.

Secondly, let us consider the present day situation of the legal system. Legal documents seem to be written in the language that the population speaks. However, it is nearly impossible for an ordinary citizen to make heads or tails out of them. Even if a lay person can decode a document, there is the risk of being deceived by the so-called “small print.” As the saying goes, “for every law there is a loophole.” Legal language is not straightforward, which allows for the bending of the laws. Here is where lawyers come into the picture.

Inasmuch as legal language is convoluted, we need lawyers to decode it for us. The classic model is that lawyers merely offer expertise in the law and advocacy, which lay people do not have. Nevertheless, the increasing dislike for lawyers suggests a quite different thing. A letter costing $300 or a conveyance taking three weeks to be executed seems to be counter-intuitive. For one thing, there are barriers to lay understanding that suit the interests of lawyers. What is more, lawyers have no interest in enabling potential clients to work out their own legal problems, as doing this would surely reduce their hefty fees. In conclusion, legal language is mainly used as an instrument of power to enable lawyers to justify their fees and monopolize the legal profession. Had it not been for the twisted technical terminology involved in legal proceedings, lay people would probably be able to solve their legal problems themselves. All in all, the legal system reflects the conservatism of the profession and its urge to perpetuate itself.