Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks?
—Hamlet, 5. 1, William Shakespeare
The Paradox discusses the dilemma of studying to be a lawyer in a world that hates and fears us:
dammit, i’m a law student. i really wanna be a lawyer. and hell yeah, i am affected by how lawyers in general are insulted by degrading remarks. it’s so darn difficult to get into law school. and that’s barely the tip of the iceberg. studying has never been this… primal. survival of the fittest has never been this… acute. be a doctor and people call you a healer. be a lawyer and people call you a lean, mean, fighting… liar.
As an undergrad, and later as a programmer—I disliked lawyers. Obstructions to change. Sneaky bastards. Oily, double-speaking snakes. I had in my mind a stereotype formed by watching too much TV and reading too many cyberpunk novels. But then the Communications Decency Act landed, and I read a Wired feature on Eldred v. Ashcroft and the lawyer leading the petitioner’s team: Lawrence Lessig. I read about two worlds of code— the one running inside processors and the other enacted in legislatures, enmeshed in the social order—and the need to preserve our rights in both fronts. I saw through the stereotype and found lawyers I could like and respect. Eventually, I wanted to become just like them—so I went through all the trouble of getting into law school. Even then, I’d joke that therein starts my slippery slope into the Dark Side of The Force.
Thankfully, I’ve yet to be forced to cut my own path through the moral thicket that lies ahead. In class discussions, I’ve managed to put forward my positions. But discussions on morals are the equivalent of fire drills. Sure you can march straight now—but how do you know how you’ll act when the real thing kicks in?
Got a lawyer joke? How about good-lawyer stories? I promise to follow-up and trackback on your comments.
Entries (RSS)
May 27th, 2004 at 5:55 pm
but you know, this is where the influence of dungeon and dragons comes in: the world isn’t just good and evil, it has shades of grey. I think you can be on the side of good pero chaotic good or on the side of evil pero lawful evil.
May 27th, 2004 at 8:21 pm
hehe. definitely chaotic good