© 2013 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden, JD
Senior Writer for The Texas Lawbook
(July 13) – No angry phone calls, please. No profanity laced e-mails. No blaming the messenger.
A new poll shows that the American public believes the two occupations that contribute least to society’s well-being are lawyers and business executives. And public opinion of our once esteemed profession continues to decline.
But before you get your legal briefs in a tether, journalists and the clergy are not too far behind.
A new poll released this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that soldiers, teachers, doctors, scientists and engineers contribute “a lot” to our society. All of these occupations have a 63 percent or higher public approval rating.
Then, the numbers plunge. Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed found that preachers and priests contribute “a lot” to society and only 28 percent responded that journalists help make this a better place to live.
Only 18 percent of people, according to the poll, think that lawyers contribute “a lot” to making our communities a better place to live – down from 23 percent in 2009.
Making matters worse, 34 percent of those surveyed said that lawyers provide “not very much or nothing at all” to society’s well-being.
Again, don’t blame me for these results. I’m a lawyer-journalist, and I’m pretty sure my parents were part of the survey.
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