“How does it make you feel when you have to compromise your ethics by defending guilty criminals? What do you mean, ‘comprimise my ethics’? That is my ethic – to defend people accused of a crime, whether I believe that they may be innocent or guilty. If you can’t deal with that, don’t become a defense lawyer.”
This is a brilliantly simple way to look at the concept of being a zealous advocate for your client. Since I’ve been *thinking* about going to law school, people have asked me how I can consider doing criminal defense. I don’t know if I want to actually do defense, but this has certainly made me *think* about it.
The quote is from Alan Dershowitz’s ‘Letters to a Young Lawyer’. It’s a collection of 2-4 page essays on, well, being a lawyer. Dershowitz is a wonderful writer – his style makes you feel like you’re sitting across from him on a comfy chair in a warm coffee shop, drinking lattes and discussing the practice of law. It seems to talk about the reality of practice, as opposed to the fantasy that many law students (myeself included!) have – similar to posts I’ve made to/for people looking to get into my current field. It’s kind, but it dosen’t sugarcoat the problems involved in this career path. It’s simple, direct, and thought provoking – I *highly* reccomend it to the legal professionals out there. Heck, even if you’re just intersted in the law, it’s a lovely book.
