Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 7, 1993 TAG: 9302070028
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
UNLOVED LAWYERS HIRE PR MAN TO PLEAD THEIR CASE
America's lawyers feel unloved and unappreciated, so the American Bar Association is spending big bucks to tell the public something positive about the profession.But some - even Michael T. Scanlon, the ABA's new $170,000-a-year media expert - say good public relations alone won't give lawyers a better image.
Too many Americans are saying "what little we know about lawyers we're not crazy about," Scanlon said in a recent interview.
But he said the profession "is tired of taking its lumps" and ready to counter critics such as former Vice President Dan Quayle, who accused the complicated legal system of harming the country's competitive edge.
There are plenty of critics. A legal reform group called Help Abolish Legal Tyranny says Scanlon's efforts won't work so long as many people cannot get the legal help they need.
"It's the system that's corrupt," said HALT executive director William Fry. His group wants to let non-lawyers help people with simple matters such as filing uncontested divorces and living wills.
"The system just denies access to most people, yet lawyers protect their monopoly with a vengeance," Fry said. "As long as they do that, there's no polishing of their image that will help them."
Scanlon, who was hired by the ABA in November, previously headed an Atlanta-based education group for the oil industry and worked in the White House during President Gerald Ford's administration.
He was hired even though the 370,000-lawyer group is cutting costs elsewhere. About 40 of the ABA's 750 employees have been laid off, and the organization was planning other budget cuts as it opened its midyear convention here Wednesday.
ABA President J. Michael McWilliams said the group wants a long-term strategy to dispel negative views that he says reflect "a lack of understanding of the justice system."
Scanlon said his job is to improve the ABA's communication to the public through the mass media, public speakers and educational programs for schools. The ABA may produce television programs offering practical advice such as how to choose a lawyer, he said.
But many improvements must be made in the legal system itself, Scanlon said. Unethical lawyers are one of the profession's biggest problems, and states need to open up their processes for judging them, he said.
Law firms must treat their consumers better by explaining the costs involved in handling a case and by keeping clients better informed of their case's progress, Scanlon added.
One reason lawyers collectively suffer a bad reputation is the nature of the business, said New York news media attorney Floyd Abrams.
"Lawyers are the only people in our society who are asked to represent people who may be wrong, who may have done criminal things," he said, adding that some people believe attorneys have the same moral flaws as their clients.
"The two fields which have done the worst job of explaining to the public what they do at their best are lawyers and journalists," Abrams said.