Even before Shakespeare, Lawyers have routinely gotten a bad rap. Opined as the sum of all evils, and often the subject of some very unflattering metaphors, Lawyers are the subject of some of the most well-known jokes around.
That’s why, for Love Your Lawyer Day, which was created in 2001 by attorney Nader Anise, ALPIA (American Lawyers Public Image Association) had started a campaign of “No Lawyer Bashing or Jokes for a day.” After all, while Lawyers may have a bad reputation, it’s often forgotten the good they do.
History of Love Your Lawyer Day
While codes of laws existed prior to this, the most noted codification of law is credited to the Babylonian King Habburabi of Mesopotamia. Consisting of 282 laws, it described everything from punishments for various crimes to the wages to be paid for services such as wagon driving and medical practitioners.
This accounted for well over half the laws, while familial laws such as divorce, sexual behavior, and paternity issues covered nearly a third of the laws. Most notable was a control put in place to ensure the law was enacted fairly if a judge was found guilty of judging incorrectly, they were fined.
Since that day codes of law have gotten ever more convoluted bringing about the rise of importance of legal professionals, your friendly neighborhood lawyer.
Today our codes of laws are far more involved, including expectations of conduct of business, building codes, and a labyrinthine series of regulations that can only be understood with the dedicated study.
Every day lawyers are hired to defend those accused of crimes, represent those who cannot defend themselves, and work in every aspect of modern society. Much as they may be generally reviled, we owe much of our civilizations smooth operations to these masters of the legal code.
This is why ALPIA put together this day to show your love and appreciation for these most unloved of civil servants. For just one day, they ask that you set aside the lawyer jokes, the subtle bashing around the water cooler, and remember that without these legal warriors, we’d have no one to help us navigate the complex world of law.
How to celebrate Love Your Lawyer Day
Celebrating Love Your Lawyer Day is easy, all you need to do is not tell any lawyer jokes for one day. This in and of itself will go a long way to showing these legal professionals the love and respect due to one who spends their life trying to help others through these complex and difficult waters.
If you want to go the extra mile, contact your lawyer, or any lawyer if you don’t have one, and let them know how much you appreciate what they do every day. Just one phone call can serve to remind them that their long hours and dedication to justice isn’t without its rewards.
If you really want to show your love, send out a gift basket or card and tell them how much they mean to you. If you’ve ever been helped by a legal professional, use Love Your Lawyer Day to thank them for all they’ve done. We’ve all got more to thank them for than we realize.
If you do something fun, exciting, or out-of-this-world-crazy for Love Your Lawyer Day… or… if you successfully execute the perfect Love Your Lawyer surprise… tweet or Facebook your pictures or videos to #LoveYourLawyerDay so the whole world can see!
