A good start! BAZINGA!! (There’s probably a trade mark on
that somewhere, we did not make it up…) We’ve
all heard the jokes. Heck, in a former
life, I was a paralegal so I’ve certainly told a few. It was not until I asked for help from
friends and family to come up with a new title for our blog, that I really took
seriously the image of attorneys at large.
A lot of the proposals involved references to vampires, dirt bags,
etc. Don’t get me wrong, they were witty
and very well thought out. I laughed at
a good number of them. But in the end,
it kind of made my heart hurt.
Why?
Because we love our jobs. They’re
stressful and consuming and the rates of alcoholism and depression are
ridiculously high, but overall, when we sit down amongst others in the world’s
second oldest profession, we may not be
the jolliest of folks, but… we.love.our.jobs.
Now, we recognize that most normal people only come into contact with an
attorney during the worst times of their lives.
Understandably, their views are shaped by the outcome of their
case. Here is a tip (it is free): very
very few people are ever 100% happy with the result of any case. Even if they are happy when they leave the
courtroom they become invariably unhappy when they receive the bill for the
work that it took to get them there. No
great surprise, therefore, that attorneys are a hated bunch. So, what sort of insane individual says to
themselves “I would like to grow up to do a job that I will be hated for”? An idealist.
I know, you just spit out your coffee… but here is something the “jury”
does not usually see:
I do
solemnly swear or affirm that: I will support the Constitution of the United
States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana; I will maintain the
respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers; I will not counsel or
maintain any action, proceeding, or defense which shall appear to me to be unjust,
but this obligation shall not prevent me from defending a person charged with
crime in any case; I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes
confided to me, such means only as are consistent with truth, and never seek to
mislead the court or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law; I
will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my client at
every peril to myself; I will abstain from offensive personality and advance no
fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless
required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged; I will not
encourage either the commencement or the continuance of any action or
proceeding from any motive of passion or interest; I will never reject, from
any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless, the
oppressed or those who cannot afford adequate legal assistance; so help me God.
In Indiana, each attorney licensed to practice
law has at one time or another stood in front of the Justices of the Indiana
Supreme Court and likely their friends and family and sworn that oath. That is
a pretty weighty promise. It is one that
CJK and I take extremely seriously. It
hangs on the wall in my office and it challenges me daily. Whatever we may become as attorneys, this is
where we start. For most of us, the practice of law is more a calling than a
vocation, like those called to the mission fields or to the medical
professions. I know, at this point you
are snickering… possibly even thinking “LOL WHAT!?!??!” but think about it, the pay isn’t great
(despite what you may see on such fabulous shows as The
Good Wife, Damages, and Law and Order ((pick a spin off, any spin
off)) – most of us do not have tailored suits, a car service and a perfectly
furnished $$$$$$$$$ condo with skyline views), the hours are awful (not many
elementary school teachers wake up on Christmas Day to 6 angry voicemails from
people who want you to skip opening presents with family to call their
ex/current/spouse/neighbor/boyfriend and tell them that they should have been
somewhere 13 minutes ago) and you spend most of your days arguing with people,
most of whom you probably actually like.
Add to that the $150K plus in student loans that you can’t bankrupt out
of and yes, my dears, I say it is a calling.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for pity, but
I am trying to create some perspective.
This is where I come from, who I am and why I do what I do. It is the perspective I will likely bring to
these blog posts so consider this my super fancy disclaimer… With my oath in
mind, and with the intention to do more good than harm, we begin our foray into
the blogging world. Glad to have you
with us.
So help me God.
-DEC
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