I always say that when I married an attorney we were both shocked, shocked, to learn that each other’s profession had a code of ethics. The public might agree.
A Gallup poll released this week shows the public rated journalists above lawyers in their perceptions of ethics and honesty. But not by much. For journalists, 25 percent of the public think we have high ethics and honesty, compared to 18 percent for lawyers. Of those distrusting us, 31 percent think journalists have low ethics. For attorneys, it’s 37 percent.
Trust in bankers fell amid the mortgage crisis. Despite making a mess of the economy, they ranked just behind journalists but still ahead of attorneys.
Nurses are perceived as having the highest ethics and honesty (84 percent), followed by pharmacists, teachers and doctors. Clergy, interestingly, were sixth on the list, behind police.
At the bottom of the list: members of Congress, auto salespeople, telemarketers and — dead last — lobbyists.
(via AM Law Daily)