Legal Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legal Ethics - Essay ExampleA Morgan poll drawed in Australia showed that the overt has a poor opinion of lawyers1 which has been deteriorating over the years, findings which replicated those of the American Harris Poll conducted in 1997, showing a debasement in the perception of lawyer prestige from 36% in 1977 to 18% in 1997.2The movies portray lawyers in an adversarial, litigating role at trial courts, especially in the case of women lawyers.3 This highlights the aggressive and confrontational role of lawyers and enhances this ensure in the public mind. Graham and Maschio have pointed out how the conventions of movies interact with the conventions of law4. Through a particular personation of various categories of lawyers in films, much(prenominal) as female or gay lawyers, the general image of such lawyers may be distorted among members of the public.Rapoport has pointed out how the public images of lawyers as revealed on the silver harbour could similarly affect the manner in which lawyers view ethical dilemmas and make ethical choices, with law students being oddly susceptible to such images.5 The notion of professional and ethical responsibility of lawyers is being increasingly undermined by the screen images and Ross and MacFarlane have highlighted evidence which suggests that students do not take the courses in professional responsibility seriously.6 In general, students take up courses in law for the purpose of better earnings, rather than being motivated by the desire to practice law in an ethical manner7. Moreover, films tend to portray lawyers as bad characters who conduct themselves in an unprofessional manner, which undermines the confidence of the public and also affects the perceptions of new emerging lawyers.Asimov provides several examples of such ban portrayals of lawyers in films for example, the character of arrogant and rude lawyer Martin Vale in the film Primal idolize, or the drug abusing character of