Only 25% of Americans Have a Positive Image of Lawyers
Do Americans have a better image of lawyers, bankers or real estate brokers?
Lawyers may take little comfort in the answer.
Only 25 percent of Americans have a positive view of the legal field, according to a new Gallup survey. Only three industries got lower ratings—real estate, automobiles, and oil and gas. Bankers bested lawyers by three percentage points.
The survey asked respondents to indicate whether they held positive or negative views of 25 different industries. The five industries with the worst images, starting with the very worst, were:
• Oil and gas industry, viewed positively by 21 percent, compared to 15 percent last year.
• Automobile industry, viewed positively by 24 percent, compared to 29 percent last year.
• Real estate industry, viewed positively by 24 percent, compared to 16 percent last year.
• The legal field, viewed positively by 25 percent, compared to 26 percent last year.
• Banking, viewed positively by 28 percent, compared to 36 percent last year. The one-year decline was the largest of the industries surveyed.
The computer industry had the best image, with a positive rating by 62 percent of those surveyed. Second was the restaurant industry, followed by farming and agriculture, the Internet industry, and the grocery industry.
