I am very interested in attending law school and hopefully one day becoming a lawyer of some kind. However, i am not entirely sure why i want to pursue this career. Law school is very expensive and time consuming. It takes a full time commitment for three years of my early twenties. Then when i get out, i will be tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Why would someone want to suffer through all that? I want to do it for a number of reasons that Kennedy talks about. I want the prestige that being a lawyer or attorney comes with. People look at you more highly when they find out your a lawyer. Also, lawyers get compensated very well, which they should be for the time, effort, and money that they spend. Finally, and most importantly, i want to help people. I want my career to matter towards something in society. No matter what area of law you go into, you will be helping someone in one way or another.
In class we were discussing the individuals who only do it for the paycheck and if they would continue to perform these duties if they were paid the same as a janitor. I feel that a lot of people would quit and do something easier if they weren't compensated fairly. However, i feel that there would a large amount of people who would continue working to help people even though they weren't compensated the same. Saying this, i feel that lawyers are paid a fair amount because they really do have to go through a lot and work extremely hard to even become a lawyer, let alone continue to be one.
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I would have to agree with you that lawyers are compensated fairly. They receive just compensation for the amount of time and effort they spend on their education. I am curious if you think that we should really look that the lawyer is helping people when they are working on a case for a corporation that is being defended against when they should be sued for negligence as a car company.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew and Brad. I think lawyers are compensated fairly, especially after dedicating three whole years and spending entirely too much money in order to work in the field. I also agree with Andrew about people keeping their jobs even if they weren't compensated fairly in order to help people. After doing an internship at SCI Rockview I want to go into the field of Corrections but the jobs I am looking at are not high paying jobs and personally I think they should get more. Everyday I am in a situation where I could be easily harmed, yet I am choosing to do this job and help these people but I would barely make $45,000 a year. But I still plan on going into the field because I want to help these people.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Brad's last point: as a family friend of mine put it who was a public defender, "Someone's got to do it." Even though the company may be negligent, or someone really did murder someone, the law says they have the right to counsel. They have the right to say their part even if they are clearly guilty. So, I believe that lawyer defending them is helping.
I agree, lawyers are definitely fairly compensated for their work. Not only is it the time spent in school and the hours spent on a case, I believe it's more so the responsibility that comes with the job. If you mess up you could bankrupt a company or a man could go to jail for the rest of his life. These are extremes but these things still happen. It's just like being a doctor, you can potentially have someone's life in your hands and you should be payed for taking on the responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above: lawyers are compensated fairly because the nature of their work deserves to be. Moreover, law school is very expensive and in order for someone to attend law school and become a lawyer, they need a salary compensation that will allow them to pay off debt.
ReplyDeleteI think Lawyers are well compensated for their work--sometimes too well compensated making it an issue of money. There are times where it seems like the potential of your success in winning a court case is based entirely on how much you can pay for an attorney. Success = higher rates.
ReplyDeleteI feel that any career that requires additional years of schooling especially in the fields of law and medicine should compensated fairly. Due to the extra amount of time and money needed to successfully become a lawyer or a doctor, proper salary should be awarded.
ReplyDeleteLawyers are paid so much because so much more is riding on their job performance. It's kind of like professional athletes: I'd pay a top quarterback 20 million dollars a year if he got our team into the Super Bowl, because that will make us 200 million dollars. Lawyers are in a similar situation, where they are valued highly, but not as highly as the ends they are pursuing for their clients.
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