Really, it's been a tough couple of years for those of us in private practice, one would have hoped the public might recognise that our fees are not what they used to be, neither are our billable hours, and that maybe it's time you just left us poor lawyers alone.

According to a recent survey by legallybetter.com (better than what you ask?), the general public seems to think that we're all just as bad as those nasty lawyer types depicted on television. Around one quarter of adults think we're "incompetent and expensive", like lawyer Lionel Hutz in the Simpsons, while a third refer to us as "ruthless and efficient" like Patty Hewes in Damages.

But if you thought some TV lawyers were ok - think Stephen Fry's amicable and conscientious Kingdom character - it seems that the general public (just 12 per cent) think they represent real-life lawyers.

As for that sweet and kind (or some might say simply annoying) Ally McBeal, only four per cent of the public think we're actually like that.