Lawyers’ Role in Dispute Resolution Essay -- Law Legal Lawyer

Lawyers’ Role in Dispute Resolution Modern American culture provides an inconsistent vision of the role of lawyers in dispute resolution. Lawyers are alternately portrayed as greedy, corrupt people without morals or as necessary and competent allies in protecting individuals against larger and better-funded opponents. In reality, while lawyers have the definite capability to change the outcome of a dispute in a negative way, they ultimately have a positive effect by allowing citizens access to the legal system. By its very nature, the legal system is confusing, puts the inexperienced at a disadvantage, and can be difficult to access for claimants with little authority. Lawyers provide a way to overcome these obstacles. They are beneficial because they effectively use their experience and education to help their clients, facilitate their client’s freedom in trial, aid in the formation of cases, and add authority and weight to a claim. The experience and education lawyers have is invaluable in providing legal access for their clients. Their knowledge and skill allow lawyers to effectively interpret the legal system and therefore help their clients navigate it. The American legal system, in the two hundred years it has been in existence, has become extremely complex and confusing to the uninitiated. The trial process alone can become a Byzantine series of motions, objections, briefs, and rulings. Despite the fact that defendants are allowed to represent themselves, the very structure of the system is so complicated that being or employing a professional lawyer is all but necessary. Legal documents, too, are so confusing that even non-trial disputes can be impossible for a layman to handle. A lawyer’s training i... ...nore, Peter d’Errico, Ethan Katsh, Ronald M. Pipkin, Janet Rifkin (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002) 76-83. Langum, David J. â€Å"William M. Kunstler: The Most Hated Lawyer in America, Introduction to Legal Studies: A Reader, ed. Thomas Hilbink, 2005, 83-97. Haltom, William. Michael McCann, â€Å"Distorting the Law: Politics, Media, and the Litigation Crisis,† Introduction to Legal Studies: A Reader, ed. Thomas Hilbink, 2005, 23-46. Menkel-Meadow, Carrie. â€Å"The Transformation of Legal Disputes by Lawyers: What the Dispute Paradigm Does and Does Not Tell Us,† Before the Law: An Introduction to the Legal Process. Ed. Stephen Arons, John J Bonsignore, Peter d’Errico, Ethan Katsh, Ronald M. Pipkin, Janet Rifkin (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002) 478-480 Toobin, Jeffrey. â€Å"Killer Instinct,† Introduction to Legal Studies: A Reader, ed. Thomas Hilbink, 2005, 251-260.