Anyone who needs more than one suitcase is a tourist, not a traveler. (Today for the Wagga Wagga Show Reception we only brought one suitcase via Roo Island and Mildura :~)
Chief Justice Bell said the “bad apples” had a huge effect on trust in the profession.
Any political party or aspiring Prime Minister would be over the moon with polls showing 60% support in the lead up to an election. But these figures reflect attitudes to a system that is crucial to the proper, orderly and fair functioning of a nation under the rule of law,” van der Plaat said. “The data should give pause, not only to lawyers, but also to leaders in politics and the media, to examine how their words and actions might be affecting public confidence in the administration of justice.”
Trust issues in the legal profession revealed by new data: NSW Law Society
Lawyers and judges are highly trusted by Australians, even though the public struggles to believe the profession “has their best interests at heart”, according to research conducted for the NSW Law Society.
The study of community attitudes to lawyers, judges and the legal system for the nation’s biggest legal association led to trust scores of about 60 per cent.
Corporate lawyers had the lowest ranking, with only 44 per cent of respondents saying they could be trusted, followed by government lawyers on 52 per cent. Legal Aid lawyers fared best, with 66 per cent.
NSW Law Society president Joanne van der Plaat, who hosted a seminar on Monday with Susan Redden Makatoa from research firm Edelman and NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell,said the results were “concerning”.
“While most people trust lawyers, judges and the legal system, there’s a significant minority that is either distrustful or neutral in their attitudes,” Ms van der Plaat said.
A score over 60 on the Edelman trust barometer, said Ms Redden Makatoa, meant the group being surveyed is trusted, 50 to 60 per cent is neutral, and any score under 50 indicates “distrust”.
Judges fared best with a score of 62 per cent, followed by lawyers (60 per cent) and the legal system (59 per cent). The neutral score was 16 per cent across all categories, and the distrusted scores were 18 to 21 per cent.
‘A good base’
Ms Redden Makatoa told the seminar, which opened the 2022 Law Society Conference, that it was “the biggest group of neutrals I’ve seen”.
“The take [by the Law Society] was ‘only 60 per cent’, but 60 per cent is a good base to start with ...
“The corporates came in for a bit of pasting, but the media coverage and discussion could be colouring that.”
In its 22nd annual survey, released in February, Edelman said all four of its traditional categories – business, government, media and NGOs – had suffered reversals over the previous 12 months. For example, business fell from 63 per cent to 58 per cent and media was down from 51 per cent to 43 per cent
The Law Society survey of 1000 people aged 18 to 65 was conducted by Pure Profile in August.
Online reviews
It found that 45 per cent find their lawyer through word of mouth. Next was via Google (18 per cent) or advertising such as firm websites (8 per cent).
Ms Redden Makatoa noted that online customer reviews were also a factor for 45 per cent of respondents. “They are actively going to check you out in that decision-making process. And they want to know what other people say about you.”
The biggest turn-offs for legal consumers were cost (66 per cent) and “finding a good lawyer” (44 per cent).
There was also a series of “do you believe” questions about the profession.
On whether lawyers offered value for money, the scores were 30.4 per cent (agree) 34.6 per cent (neutral) and 30.2 per cent (disagree). “Has my best interests at heart” fared better (40.2 per cent, 37.2 per cent and 19.7 per cent), as did “is diverse and inclusive” (38.4 per cent, 34.6 per cent and 20.7 per cent).
‘Bad apples’
The highest disagree ratings were for statements that the profession “treats everyone as equals” (35.8 per cent) and “provides advice that is simple” (34 per cent).
Chief Justice Bell said the “bad apples” had a huge effect on trust in the profession.
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“When I started at the bar there was the scandal of a small number – but high profile – barristers who were not paying their tax. It did enormous damage to the whole institution.
“It’s a similar situation with the defalcation of trust accounts.”
The chief justice said he suspected the big “neutral” scores in the survey probably reflected those who had not had to engage with the legal system.
“If our courts aren’t trusted, what kind of society do we have? It’s something we have to be eternally vigilant about.”
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Michael Pelly is the legal editor, based in our Sydney newsroom. He has been a senior adviser to federal and state attorneys-general and written two books, one a biography of former High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson. Email Michael at michael.pelly@afr.com
“When I started at the bar there was the scandal of a small number – but high profile – barristers who were not paying their tax. It did enormous damage to the whole institution.
“It’s a similar situation with the defalcation of trust accounts.”
The chief justice said he suspected the big “neutral” scores in the survey probably reflected those who had not had to engage with the legal system.
“If our courts aren’t trusted, what kind of society do we have? It’s something we have to be eternally vigilant about.”
Find out the inside scoop about Accenture, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC and McKinsey. Sign up to our weekly Professional Life newsletter.
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Edelman Trust Barometer 2022: The Cycle of Distrust: “We find a world ensnared in a vicious cycle of distrust, fueled by a growing lack of faith in media and government. Through disinformation and division, these two institutions are feeding the cycle and exploiting it for commercial and political gain. Distrust is now society’s default emotion Nearly 6 in 10 say their default tendency is to distrust something until they see evidence it is trustworthy. Another 64% say it’s now to a point where people are incapable of having constructive and civil debates about issues they disagree on. When distrust is the default – we lack the ability to debate or collaborate..”
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The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), was developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The Elder Index is a measure of the income that older adults need to meet their basic needs and age in place with dignity.
I'd written a few things, I'd written Purple Patch 1, 2, and 3...though I haven't released 3 yet. I had fun writing it, but most of my friends don't read and most surfers don't really read, but it doesn't prevent me from writing them. I saw this documentary on Ernest Hemingway, and he'd written two or three books in a row that hadn't got much traction and he felt a bit disappointed. And then he wrote The Old Man and the Sea in eight weeks, and I felt inspired by that.
For The Old Man and the Sea, he had to find a story inside him that really wanted to be born. What I find amazing, Stu, is that someone hasn't told this story before. How can it be that I'm 61 and it's 2022, and, to my mind, this is the first time the Bondi story has been told.
'Bondi Days: An Obituary' is self-published and can be bought online at Amazon (including Kindle versions)
Signed copies are $25, available by emailing Monty
Knowing nothing but the title, I pegged Monty Webber's latest book 'Bondi Days: An Obituary' as yet another book about how the old days were better than the new ones. With my mind made up, 'Bondi Days' shifted positions in the house; an unwanted object with no place to be.
That's until last weekend when I indifferently flicked through the pages, and then subsequently read all 120 of them in one sitting.
It is a book about a time a place - Bondi Beach from the 60s to the 90s - and despite being presented as memoir, the larger story is how the place shaped the people who inhabited it. Monty describes it as "a bit like 'The Wonder Years', where a kid is seeing stuff that blows him away and he has little idea of how it's going to affect him."
Yet there's a whole other element that wouldn't fit under 'The Wonder Years' M rating, nor are the stories presented as morality tales. Thankfully, 'Bondi Days' is a judgement-free zone.
Swellnet recently chatted to Monty about writing Bondi Days.
Monty Webber on 'Bondi Days: An Obituary'
How a Self-Trained Italian Blacksmith Built Himself an Amusement Park Atlas Obscura
Russian oil chief Maganov dies in ‘fall from hospital window’ BBC
Remembering Gorbachev Glibert Doctorow (ctlieee). “The [Soviet] economy was hopelessly mismanaged and the entire legacy of Soviet legislation rendered it virtually impossible to escape from violence or the threat of violence to make things work.” Totally unlike the Unied States…
Russian oil chief Maganov dies in ‘fall from hospital window’ BBC
