Can a Good Lawyer be a Good Person?

In order to answer this question, you need to understand: who is «a good lawyer»?
To become a lawyer is to become a man/woman of many hats. Law schools will
teach you some of the skills you need, but they can't teach character. In order to
become a "good" lawyer, you have to naturally have certain qualities. Some of these
qualities you've discovered within yourself in your time as a law student, but others
may need to be worked on.
Many lawyers just appear to be good at what they do on the surface, but you can
quickly realize the truth behind them. All lawyers must have certain skills in order
to be a successful and, in turn, a good lawyer.
First of all it is analytical skills – all lawyers should be able to look at any situation
and analyze it from all points of view. For example, criminal defense attorneys have
to look at the case from the view of the prosecutor, and vice versa. All lawyers must
be able to take in large amounts of information at a time, organize it, and understand
it on the spot.
Secondly, a good lawyer should have such skill as responsiveness. This is a skill
that not every lawyer has. All lawyers should respond to their clients, law partners,
secretaries, and anyone else involved in a case. Putting off a conversation or not
being readily available as often as possible can result in a failed case because the
information the client wants to provide is crucial to the case’s integrity.
Thirdly, it is research and investigation skills – finding authoritative information
on the internet, as well as finding appropriate information in books can be a difficult
thing to do in a short period of time. Lawyers will tell you that when they went
through law school, there were a lot of research papers. A lawyer’s opinion does not
stand up in court, so it must be backed with facts. That’s where the research and
investigation comes in. All lawyers should know how to work with investigators,
use online resources, research laws, regulations, and judicial opinions to back their
case up. Following the research is the presentation and delivery of the information.
Of course it is speaking skills – all lawyers must be able to speak clearly and
concisely. A lot of lawyers are comfortable in front of a large group of people, but
they lack the ability to form a logical thought that gets his/her point across. Another
aspect of speaking skills is to understand legal terminology. Legal professionals
have to be able to understand and explain the terminology to the client. If you can’t
understand your lawyer, then neither can the jury.
Last but not least it is listening skills – in order to properly understand the case, all
lawyers must listen to their clients. Without listening skills, the lawyer will miss
pertinent information. For the strongest case possible, the lawyer must understand
every aspect of the case and look at it from all angles.
Looking from the point of view of the necessary skills for a good lawyer, it can be
argued with accuracy that a good lawyer does not mean a good person. If you have
the right skills, do your job well, then they will look at you as a good lawyer. Are
you a good person? The question is outside the scope of the profession. But this does
not mean that a person can not be both. This only underlines the importance of the
ability to do one’s job well.
Are you a bad person defending a criminal, a murderer or a rapist? Yes, maybe so.
But if you lured everyone to your side, made everyone think the way you wanted,
won the case, then you are without a doubt a good lawyer.
Most likely, good people will not protect those who are guilty in their opinion.
Although the lawyer must stand on the fact that all his clients are not guilty until the
court admits their guilt, a good person will not allow the guilty person to be free.
If a person is guilty, but he repents of his deed and regrets it, or says that he did not
have another way out, can he be blamed? Or it is worth to help him psychologically
or to give him a job, as Ronald Sullivan did talking about his case. Are there many
such good people who are also good lawyers? It seems to me that any lawyer should
adhere such position. It doesn't matter who you protect. The main thing is to give a
guarantee that a person who was acquitted, when leaving the court, will be able to
say with confidence, “I am very sorry that this happened. I want to change my life
for the better and do good to other people”.