Asking Leopards to Change Their Spots: Should Lawyers Change? A Critique of Solutions to Problems with Professionalism by Reference to Empirically-Derived Attorney Personality Attributes

Abstract

The legal profession is at a crossroads. Public opinion of attorneys and the legal system is very low, dissatisfaction among lawyers both professionally and personally is widely known, substance abuse and other psychological problems are almost twice as frequent among attorneys as in the general population, attorney discipline cases and malpractice suits appear to be common, and the lack of civility and "professionalism" among attorneys is frequently discussed. Some say these problems have always been present and have not necessarily increased in recent years. However, others suggest that these phenomena are reaching crisis proportions. The problems seem to fall into three categories: professionalism, public opinion, and lawyer dissatisfaction. Together, these three problems form a "tripartite crisis in today's legal profession.

Keywords: lawyers, legal profession, dissatisfaction