Why do people hate lawyers?

People only need lawyers when something has gone wrong, usually because they have buggered it up themselves. So they resent needing us and having to admit it's gone pear-shaped. Particularly in family law, when both parties want someone else to blame. They also have no idea what we actually do: they do not get that the years of training and experience which permit a doctor to say "ignore it, it's fine" or "you need an operation", are the same skills we exercise. They certainly do not understand the hours of preparation required for what may end up being a short application in court, nor that small cases (in money terms) can be even more legally complex than larger cases. In my 25 years' experience, people love their own lawyer, but hate "all lawyers" (the ones they don't know).

lot more to all that