ARE LAWYERS LIARS?

Lawyers Are": One who defends you at the risk of your pocketbook, reputation and life.

If you say all lawyers are liers would you also say that all pizzas are not edible, or that all editors are not sticklers, or that all peeves are not justified?

As you know very well, you would be wrong in every case. It’s not true that all lawyers are not liars, because some lawyers are liars. To accurately express what you probably believe to be true, you should write “Not all lawyers are liars”

But “all are not” in place of “not all are” almost guarantees that the reader will stumble. We take “all X” to mean “every single X.” All humans are mortal. So when you start a sentence with “All lawyers,” a reader is justified in expecting that you have something to say that is true of all lawyers. And if it turns out to be that they are “not liars,” you’ve just confounded things.

But lawyers are human too and sometimes they make mistakes and poor choices. That is why there is a disciplinary process set up for lawyers.

On a more specific note, I want to address the misconception that criminal defence lawyers commonly lie to the court to get their clients off. A criminal defence lawyer is an advocate for his or her client, but also an officer of the court. An officer of the court is a person that has an interest in making sure that the court process functions as it should. As officers of the court, we are duty and honour bound to not mislead or lie to the court and we take that duty seriously.

Oh, but of course, lawyers are liars and even if a few of us do lie;

Does that make all of us liars?

If the answer is yes, then

All accountants are thieves

All doctors are murderers

All Bankers are fraudsters

All Engineers use fake materials

All Pharmaceutical companies make fake drugs

All Journalists are liars

All Receptionists, Sales Clerks, male and female are prostitutes

All musicians are drug addicts.

They say we are liars.

Let’s judge this issue with wisdom, and logic of course.

If we bring logical reasoning into an issue with the aim of acquitting a person, is that, lying?

If yes,

That makes the lecturer who adds 2 points to give a student an A, a what?

Fraudster?

Ha, they call it benevolence, sure but still say we are lying.

What about the cashier who gives a receipt of N1000 when you pay N950 and tells you to bring the balance the next day?

What is that called, kindness?