It is hard to see a higher calling than one which attemps to stem the decline of the legal profession, restore it to its former status and educate it to maintain its traditional role in upholding justice. There is little doubt about the fact that the legal profession, and to some extent the legal system, is in crisis. At the very center of these values was the belief that the outstanding lawyer the one who serves as a model for the rest is not simply an accomplished technician but a person of prudence or practical wisdom as well.
Some lawyers express dissatisfaction with their lifestyles.
Their professional obligations compete for their personal time and family attention. Still others are leaving practice or changing their roles, citing various increased pressures or simply a concern about whether this professional life is a worthwhile pursuit. Although the theories of academics and the condemnations of some practitioners are significant criticisms of some people in today's profession, perhaps the harshest indictment of today's legal profession lies in public perception. Many non-lawyer members of the public express a high opinion of their own lawyer and of their lawyer friends and relatives, but have total disrespect for other lawyers. Of course, it comes as no surprise that members of a profession that is often in the middle of public controversy are subject to widespread abuse and criticism.