I am fascinated by this post. I have been dealing with lawyers ever since one was instrumental in screwing me way back in 1993, and as an Irishman in the Kennedy mould, for many years I have subscribed to the philosophy attributed to JFK. Don’t get mad, get even. The other half of me is Scot so I am a tenacious SOB but I no longer bear malice towards the profession, more like pity.

To understand lawyers I went to university and studied law for three years. I experienced first hand the virtual seminary in deception and self delusion, that is almost mandatory in order to pass examinations. I passed all but one Constituitional Law subject, and I failed that because the woman professor got the jimmy brits with my interpretation of the “Kable Principle”. My interpretation of the “Kable Principle” was and remains that it determined there was no State Sovereignty.

Now if you think of a lawyer as a Roman Catholic Priest, and attribute the same mindset to them as Roman Catholic Priests, you will understand why they suffer depression badly. They are wedded to a doctrine of dogma, that is completely foreign to the Protestant Christian interpretation of the Holy Bible. Lawyers are wedded to a dogma of Parliamentary Supremacy, and have to sort out which Parliament they will obey. There are nine of the mongrel things in Australia, so every lawyer has to be of two minds. In other words schizophrenic.

Because all lawyers must be atheists, in denial of the Sovereignty of Almighty God, they can find no peace in faith. They cannot serve two masters, the State and Almighty God, let alone three, two States and Almighty God at the same time. Their depression started when the lawyers in Parliament abolished the system established by Almighty God and substituted a man made system, and elevated a lawyer to a substitute for Almighty God. The saddest part is there are laws and rules that if followed would lead to their understanding of right from wrong, and their restoration to respect and love

So why shouldn't, lets say a panel beater, also charge you for the phone call in which he describes the work that will need to be done to fix your car? "Oh but lawyers are professionals, you have to pay for all that skill they utilise". OK so the panel beater can do the same and charge less, they can charge half the rate that the lawyer charges because they didn't go to university, they only did an apprenticeship over the course of 6 years, he'll charge you for his time on the phone because he could have been doing something else too. But you see they don't do it, they don't charge anything for your phone call. Neither will the bank manager, the plumber, the DVD store assistant, the you name it, probably not even the brain surgeon, just about anyone other than a lawyer. It's pretentious load of wank that they think their time is so valuable that a minute is charge worthy.

As someone who hasn't needed a lawyer (yet, KNOCK ON WOOD) my biggest complaint is them using the law to serve themselves, this includes their more absurdly adorned variant 'the judge'. Something so fundamental, essential and an institution of our democracy is just a convenient tool to royally shaft the ordinary citizens. Given that access to the law is an essential perhaps the government should step in and bust this racket, provide public law firms in the same way we have hospitals. They can bill at reasonable rates and be staffed by the people that were too common to enter the established law firms.

Lawyers get depression because they deserve it, it's just the karma bus doing it's rounds.

Legal Eagle, thanks for your article. My personal exposure to lawyers has been in two area's. Property buying and selling and family law.

For the first, an agreed fee for something I wanted so it did not raise much angst.

For the second, not a legal process I wanted with a seemingly open ended process. A lot of money wasted with an outcome that was damaging to all and where the hired gun side of lawyering does real harm to real people. The philosophical aspects of representation don't seem all that valid when the lawyer is following instructions (and presumably giving advice) which results in real harm to others.

Compounded by court processes which seem to ignore the impact on people - at one stage I paid for a lawyer to hang around the court all day because the morning listing ended up running all day and in the end the magistrate only had time to tell us she had run out of time and to come back another day. Court ordered mediation where the legal representation cost $3k but it was obvious that there would not be agreement.

I have a sense that much of the framework was designed by people with incomes where the costs involved would not seem that large.

R0bert

The key to peace is understanding. The lawyers of Australia who want to be loved, respected and treated with almost reverence, have only to expand their understanding, and be willing to accept a small bit of correction. The first step to peace, is to read the Kidman decision in 1915. The wise old Judges on the High Court then said there was only one stream of justice after 1900, and that flowed from the King (as representative of Almighty God.)

The second step is to read the Kable decision, where four Judges, McHugh, Gummow, Gaudron and Toohey all stated that the States cannot legislate to give incompatible judicial power to a Court. The words Court and Judge are the key to their peace. If it has a Judge and is called a Court it is illegal. Ch III Constitution demands a court and judges. In 2006 in Forge, the High Court stated there is a “Kable Principle”. In the Gypsy Jokers transcript, (27 September 2007) it was accepted but not explained.

On the 7th July 2009 there are only two pages of the Pape decision, that you need to know. They refer to S 15A Acts Interpretation Act 1901 ( Cth) and five out of seven Justices said it applies across the board. The rest is dross.

On the 26th August 2009 the High Court brought down the decision in Lane V Morrison. They defined the words “court” in the writings of the Chief Justice, so for a complete cure for lawyers depression, they need five letters in succession. KKFPL, Kidman Kable Forge Pape and Lane.

The logic that follows directs that any trial, and orders and any ruling without a jury as judges of fact is unconstitutional. In Metwally at 4,( 1984) Justice Murphy explained the effects of s 15A Acts Interpretation Act 1901 ( Cth). They should kill the VCAT, have the Federal Court sit with juries at Commonwealth expense, and stop refusing to allow people to come worship Almighty God. A court and church are the same, so to be loved lawyers make your churches user friendly

One aspect of the law that's frustrating,especially to those of us who have a business backround, is the inefficiency of the legal process,the way it consumes the time and treasure of those unfortunate individuals entangled in it.Many non-lawyers are quite smart and can actually understand abstract principles and don't resent paying for professional advice and services that are efficiently provided.

In the 1970's Lawyers profited (Exploited) the Family Law Act and made fortunes from misery and in some cases murder.
Now they have instituted a new act allowing anyone to try and get money from a deceased's will.This will result in more banditry, family breakdown and almost certainly murder.
Gee why don't we like Lawyers, mmmmm, I wonder why?
The previous poster had it right about politicians with legal backgrounds they are very numerous.
Here is an idea, no lawyer can be a Company Director or hold political office. All fee's go through a central bureau and bankruptcy disqualifies a lawyer for life.
This is just a dream, none of it will happen and lawyers will remain wretches despised by all and rightly so!