"There are a significant number of lawyers who do pro bono work (work for free). I've volunteered at a community legal centre in the past to try to provide advice for people who can't afford it, and many other lawyers I know do this. Do you know any doctors, engineers, etc who do this?"

Legal Eagle,

IMO, it's only fair that lawyers do some pro bono work. After all, they are financially well looked after for often just shooting fish in a barrel. There's a big difference between lawyers, engineers and doctors. Engineers tend to build infrastrucure that's useful to society at large. Doctors tend to heal people. Lawyers are merely the grease and oil of commerce that interpose themselves between ordinary society and the big end of town (who are mostly interested in keeping their power and wealth). The law profession is only interested in the law, not justice. The day society does away with the need for them won't be a day too soon.

Re pro bono work, lawyers tend to only do it when they know others are looking. From what I've seen, they can be rather selective and don't typically take on the really hard or "unsexy" cases. Don't worry, politics is alive and well in the decision as to whether they do pro bono or not. But full marks to lawyers that do pro bono in the right spirit and for the right reasons.

It's telling it's only lawyers who have a special term for the unpaid work they do. I would forward that other skilled people do a stack of unpaid work for free but we don't go making a song and dance about it. My skill is IT and I've frequently assisted acquaintances in their homes with their computers, also online people are helping each other out in this area and many others with no payments of any sort. The Puffing Billy Steam Railway here in Melbourne is kept alive by engineers that do it for the love. Consider community centres too, support groups, the CFA, SES... oh god, those lawyers working for free... give them a big shiny medal.

Many years ago, before the States became churches, in all but name, the lawyers of Australia were held in high esteem. You see everyone of any note still went to church. It did not matter whether you were an Anglican, Presbyterian, or a Methodist, or a Roman Catholic most people went to church, and if you didn’t you were considered slightly strange.

Everyone whether they went to church or not, knew the words of God Save the Queen, and it was included in the Anglican Hymn Book. All Judges and Magistrates before 1900 were either Anglican, Presbyterian or Methodist, and the only way to be appointed was to be a regular attendee at church.

The Roman Catholic Church was rightly indignant about that, and rejected the first referendum to form Australia out of six colonies. The lawyers who wanted the Commonwealth, approached their Roman Catholic brothers and in consultation with the Catholic Archbishops, s 116 Constitution was drafted. It gave the Roman Catholic Australians equal electoral power, and the thousands of Roman Catholic Irish and Scots in Australia voted for independence.

The law in Australia was considered safe for Christianity because there was an Australian Courts Act 1828 and everyone knew what a court was. CJ French who was educated by the Roman Catholic Jesuits, and Justice Gummow, together defined the word court, on the 26th August 2009. They called it "an assembly held by the sovereign". Every Christian knows that Almighty God is Sovereign.

To be loved and respected lawyers have to accept that truth. They will then come into line with the 65% of people who profess Christianity, and stop acting as if Judges and Magistrates can be Gods. The States have become churches, because they have erected temples to foreign Gods. They still call these temples the Supreme Court, but they are no longer places where the Supreme Being rules, and their Rules, do not comply with His Rule Book. God loves all people, and for lawyers to cope they have to turn their backs on the Princes of this world, and serve only Almighty God

G'Day All,
I am not here to Judge nor condemn, with my past I have not that right, but Right from Wrong, with that very past, it should at least give me a say as to what is wrong.
It is wrong when people can show that something is wrong & it gets continually ignored.
Be it the Lawyers, Doctors, Carpenters, Plumbers, or any other profession there is bad & good.
To have the capacity to form a solid choice we must have something to compare whatever that needs a decision to be made. As PTB pointed out our legal system is based around Christianity & the belief in God & the Supreme Court was just that. As the Supreme Court it is sworn to Judge as in the eyes of the Lord & let Justice not only to be done it must be seen to be done & to be seen to be done as in the eyes of the Lord.
Simple as this we need a little Faith put back into society. With that Faith society may have Hope & with that Faith & Hope we may get a little Love.
Unless we get a little Love into society then the other cannot be.
There are three things Love, Faith & Hope but without Love there is nothing at all because Love is the greatest gift of all.
Thanks have a good life from Dave

The aspect I find so difficult is the fact you can be innocent or a victim and it will actually cost you money to defend your position.

Many years ago we left our car with a well known car dealer for a service. When my husband arrived back home on picking up the car up we noticed a dent in the front side area and immediately took the car back. The car dealer went into a big spiel that since the car had left the Lot, how could they be sure we did not do the damage on the way home. The manager would not let us talk to the mechanic who fixed the car nor to any other employee in the workshop. We both knew very well what was going on. The manager then offered to pay for half the repairs through a panel beater friend of his.

We were living on one income at that time with a young baby and could not afford to pursue this incident legally without being more out of pocket. In the end we just agreed and forked over about $240 from memory which was probably cheaper than using the legal system. We knew we were being cheated and that the car dealer got away with it but what else could we do?

This is why the system stinks - there should be a way in more straightfoward cases like this where someone can bring their own action in a court set up perhaps like a Judge Judy style :) where two parties can bring their grievances for a small fee.

The system is heavily balanced away from actual justice and is too far removed from ordinary people.

Well it looks like it has all been made very clear - no the legal profession is not loved and the reasons have all been made obvious here. As said previously, if indeed the legal profession really would like to be respected or even loved, and I very much doubt that they do, they should look to themselves and their charges, making it possible for the average person to be able to afford their services without being bankrupted. People can no longer afford justice and it's the legal profession who have made it so. Simple as that. Nice world we live in where only the rich get justice.