Why is "lawyer" widely pronounced "loyer"?
Solution 1:
The OED has both /ˈlɔːjə(r)/ and /ˈlɔɪə(r)/. In my British accent, I tend towards the second. The reason it’s so widespread, if indeed it is, may be because the transition to the vowel /ə/ (schwa) is more readily made from the diphthong /ɔɪ/ than it is from the sequence of /ɔː/, /j/, but I readily yield on the point to any phoneticians among us.