The
Ethical Lawyer
With
the new year upon us, we not only take stock of the work we have been
doing but also make our plans for the future. As personal
injury lawyers, part of those plans will no doubt include reviewing
our sources of work and perhaps promising ourselves to make more of
an effort to expand this yet further. However, the start of the
year is also a good time to take stick of our position as lawyers,
and personal injury lawyers in particular, in society as a
whole. Whether one is working for claimants or for insurance
companies it is hardly in dispute that such lawyers are not
held in terribly high esteem by every sector of society.
Certainly, satisfied clients and former clients will extol the
virtues of those that have helped them. However, beyond that
both sides of the industry to some extend are caricatured unkindly
both in the media and more widely by the public. Claimant lawyers
are often said to be fuelling the so-called compensation culture
whilst insurance lawyers may find themselves criticised for being
overly aggressive and fighting against perfectly worthy claims.
Whilst
both sides within the industry know the caricature is not an accurate
one, the truth is that it sticks. Indeed, it is hardly dissimilar to
the more general negative view that many people hold of lawyers in
general. The question is not whether these prejudices are wrong but
how they are to be dealt with. One way is to repeat arguments which
have failed to convince in the past. Another might be to take a
completely fresh approach and make a resolution to contribute to
other areas of society outside of the law. This is no quick fix, but
a few examples may help to stimulate ideas.
The
first relates to charitable work and is highlighted by the efforts of
employment law barrister Daniel Barnett who sends out an employment
law newsletter (www.danielbarnett.co.uk).
He has recently encouraged his readership to make a small donation
to children’s charity Dreams Come True (see www.justgiving.com/danielbarnett).
We are supporting his efforts and hope also that it will inspire
others along similar lines.
Another
example is the contribution that we as lawyers might be able to make
to reducing our impact on the environment. This will come from lots
of people making small contributions. Examples might include law
firms organising schemes where transport needs are shared or where
they decide to go paperless for as much of their work as possible.
It might be that firms decide to change to a green electricity
provider or simply change their systems in order to minimise energy
usage. Other examples might be more imaginative, such as the use of
green businesses like online CPD provider CPD Webinars
(www.cpdwebinars.com).
Whatever it is, it would provide another example of lawyers having a
positive impact on society and our environment and may also have the
added effect bonus of potentially even at least slightly changing
people’s perceptions of lawyers as a whole.
Tim
Kevan, Duncan McNair, Aidan Ellis
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