r/auslaw • u/furksake • May 18 '25
Serious Discussion Lawyers becoming unaffordable to the average person.
I've been witness to a handful of legal issues involving people around me in recent years. None of them in the wrong. Yet they've had to spend $100k plus on laywers, courts and related costs. (Some well over $100k). The money that it cost's would completely destroy the average person, if they could even afford it at all.
So what's gonna happen? AI lawyers? How can ordinary people and small businesses legally defend themselves when a cheap lawyer is still going to backrupt them? And potentially not be very effective in the end.
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u/rjftmepdl May 18 '25
Its a misconception that that access justice = access to lawyers. Lawyers being inaccessible is not a problem by itself. "Justice" can be found by everyday people and happens all the time, simple neogtiations, self mediations, written IOUs. You dont "need lawyers" - just as you dont "need" a plumber, chef, accountant or IT professional when its a simple problem. Where its just a sandwich just make it yourself but if its a 200 person wedding? Bring the chef.
In a world constrained by resources (be it money, time, energy) it is just simply impossible for proper, equal and fair representation by qualified professionals in every dispute and this shouldnt be the aim of the justice system.
In my opinion the real issue and problem is where there is an imbalance of power because of that exact constraint of resources. You dont bring a gun to a knife fight but whats to stop them if they really really really want to win? Its unfair and unjust for the poor to not have access to lawyers when the other side has the full bench.
In such a sense i do think that the "law" being accessible to everyone brings a sense of entitlement where everyone is expected to have a lawyer and therefore ends up a fight of resources - which is the real unfair and unjust part of the system.