A career in the legal field offers a lot of exciting opportunities, and even though many people would think otherwise, a license to practice law still carries with it a degree of prestige and respect. To be able to acquire that coveted Atty. that precedes one’s name, the student has to get through law school and overcome all its challenges. However, aside from the constant fear of being called on unprepared during class and the uncertainty of making it through the semester unscathed, there are other things that the future lawyer thinks about, things that are much more important than grades or passing the bar exams. These are the thoughts that are hard to get rid of, always lurking at the back of the mind and refusing to go away. These relate to the morality of the tasks the job entails and whether the new attorney could stand his ground when pressured by the not-so-ethical but “accepted” practices in the legal arena.
Before going any further, here’s a caveat. I have no experience working in the legal field, and this article is based solely on stories and the stereotypical characteristics attributed to lawyers.
When I was in elementary school, my father told me and my siblings that at least one of us should become a lawyer because it pays to have a legal mind in the family just in case any unfortunate event occurs. My sister and I immediately rejected the idea for the following reasons: (1) we do not wish to die early and (2) we don’t want to lie just to win a case. Based on our answers, it’s clear that we perceived lawyers to be liars and people who are constantly under threat because of the nature of their job.
I know that lawyers in TV series are glamorized versions of the actual ones who don’t always get to visit the courtroom. When I watched How to Get Away with Murder, I was hoping to be more inspired to become a good lawyer like Annalise Keating. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect for me. Although successful in her career and almost always winning every case she handles, the tough-talking lawyer’s life is not the one I want. Law students study hard to win cases because to most, it’s the only thing that matters in the courtroom. Are there lawyers who are willing to push for the acquittal of their clients even though they are aware of their guilt? Is one’s professional record more important than morality? Criminals have rights too, but when the lawyer sees a technical defect on his opponent’s side, will he take it just to win the case?
In the 1979 movie And Justice for All, one of Al Pacino’s lawyer friends came to him one night, drunk. The first question he asks is, “I’m a good lawyer, right?” Then he proceeds to tell Al that his previous client whom he helped get away with murder using a mere technicality defense had just killed two children. The lawyer’s guilt was evident and well-founded. If he had not gotten the murderer off the crime, the latter would have been in jail and the children would have stayed alive. Could anyone live knowing what he did to contribute to the crime without questioning his involvement in the subsequent murders?
The law protects criminals as well as the victims. An accused could go free due to lack of evidence. And even though evidence might be present, the court ignores it if it is considered inadmissible. Judges are bound to decide based only on those that are allowed by law, closing their eyes on reality even if it’s staring them in the eye.
Perhaps equally disturbing is when you’re somehow responsible for putting an innocent person behind bars and making them pay for a crime they did not do. This scenario is famously illustrated in the case of the so-called Central Park Five where five teenagers were accused of the rape of a jogger back in 1989. The case got a lot of attention because the victim was a white woman while the accused were males who belonged to minority races. No evidence pointed to them except for the confessions they were made to sign after they were pressured by police officers. The boys suffered between 6 and 13 years of jail time. After serving their sentences, they were yet to face the greater punishment—being discriminated by society. They had a hard time finding jobs and were forever branded as ex-convicts. Years later, they finally found the real suspect who admitted to the crime. The Central Park Five’s names were finally cleared, but no one could give them back the time they lost in prison.
These thoughts and similar ones like them are what make aspiring lawyers pause for a while to rethink about the profession they are trying so hard to fight for. Being able to practice law is a privilege that is difficult to obtain but easy to lose. One wrong move could ruin it all. But there are still those who are willing to risk it in return for a more glorious career and track record.
Winning is good, but how far can a lawyer be willing to go, and how much is he willing to lose to see that justice is served?
It's a Ping Thing 