I think that lawyers get a bad rap.

Blaming lawyers for corruption and out of control regulation/litigiousness is like blaming firemen for fires, with one glaring exception: firemen typically don't set fires, while a lot of lawyers definitely do the "legal" equivalent.

Also, I've found that legal training and the lawyer mindset doesn't always translate well into certain positions, for example, the presidency. It's not necessarily so, because there are all sorts of lawyers. But the current president (RIP) is one of those pedantic douches we all knew in law school, who is also a self-promoting political docuhe. Double douche. Also there has been a sea change in the poltics and academic focus of most law schools--they've largely become judicial-activist, anti-Constitutional SJW policy cesspools.

Relatedly, Obama hired a bunch of bureaucrat/technocrat-minded lawyers to surround him (that Harold Koh makes my skin crawl, for e.g.).

Then you have the billboard/bus ad types that are often mills who don't even actually practice.

In my practice, I try to think like a businessman, and assess risks with a balance of getting shite done v avoiding legal trouble down the road. I'm not sure why that could possibly be derided.

It's just the vocal shitbags who give us a bad name.

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I think that lawyers get a bad rap.

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Shakespeare agreed

Traffic engineers are good at counting cars.

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Lawyers, along with Traffic Engineers are among the most under appreciated, super important professions.

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I would argue that its research scientists. They have an equivalent or even higher education level than lawyers, work towards making discoveries that move technology and medicine forward, yet typically make a fraction of the salary.

That salary for lawyers is coming down quick

Well, this is my experience.

Law school destroys empathy. A third-year law student can see both sides of anything but is not particularly sympathetic with either side. They are like a sharp knife, indifferent to what it is cutting.

Older lawyers bring wisdom and judgment to the table. Good ones do a lot of good and resolve a lot of conflict. They are the profession's biggest benefit to society.

Some lawyers never get wise. They are like the golfer who has been shooting 100 after playing for twenty years. They just do what they do. They are irritating but not harmful.

Some lawyers are always true believers. They can sometimes do enormous good. Think about those involved in innocence projects.

Lawyers do have a bad rap. It's a shame that 98% of all Lawyers give them all a bad name.

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I would argue that its research scientists

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Hmmm. I wonder what you do?

Seriously, the public's faith in research is steadily declining.

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Think about those involved in innocence projects.

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Those folks are working for free too most of the time. God bless those lawyers and their teams. Lots of lawyers piss me off, but those are special.

So you're a journalist with a law degree?