Australia’s Lawyers Weekly reports
The number of Australians who think of lawyers as being highly ethical and honest has dropped to levels not seen since 1998, according to new research.
Australian market research and analysis company Roy Morgan has released the findings of its Image of Professions Survey 2021, which explored the extent to which Australians aged 14 and over perceive the honesty and ethical standards of various occupations. An online survey was conducted in mid-April and received responses from nearly 1,300 Australians.
Lawyers
When asked how they rate lawyers, only one-quarter (26 per cent) of Australians said that legal professionals have “high” or “very high” honesty and ethical standards.
This marks a substantial drop in societal perceptions for lawyers: in 2017 (the last time Roy Morgan conducted this research), 35 per cent of Australians rated lawyers’ ethics and honesty highly.
It is the lowest rating lawyers have received from Australians since 1998. That nadir, also 26 per cent, matches the 2021 finding as the worst outcome for lawyer perceptions since Roy Morgan started the research in 1990.
