The reality of being a criminal defense lawyer

You know, this blogosphere is a wonderful thing. I’ve been blogging for more than a few years now, about various topics. Mostly, I blog about the law and legal developments and legal stories. Being semi-anonymous, though, has prevented me from blogging about some things. Primarily, it has prevented me from blogging about the realities of being a criminal defense lawyer.

The starkest reality? We lose. We lose often. You lose more than you win. As a public defender, I lose more than you’d care to know (not because public defenders are bad lawyers, but because we can’t choose our clients). It’s not that I’m not a good lawyer (I can’t speak to that – you’d have to ask my colleagues), it’s just the nature of the beast.

I posted here about the exhilarating feeling of being on trial. Malum posts here about the aftermath of the loss. Note his question: It isn’t “How do you deal with it?”; rather he asks how best to console a client.

If you remember that, you’re halfway there. It isn’t about you. It is about the client – this individual that you’ve gotten to know over a period of time, this living flesh and blood thing. This other person – whole other person, with loves and losses and birth and childhood and parents and pain and happiness – has just lost their liberty. For whatever reason – at that point it’s not important.

It’s almost like being at a funeral. There are no right words; just the confidence of knowing that you represented him to the best of your ability. You will second guess, they will get angry. It’s natural. But, as Scott says, you need to let the client know that he’s not alone. That you understand, that you’re there with him. The loss is as much yours as it is his.

Of course, this goes back to fundamental principle of professional ethics: Never promise anything. Imagine promising your client at the very beginning of your representation that you will get him off; that the state has no case. Then imagine facing him after the verdict has been announced. Your promises feel hollow and the client feels betrayed by the one person he believed was on his side: you.

Talk to your client. Make him aware of the possibilities. Every time someone goes to trial, significant incarceration is a possibility. Work your hardest – the client will see it. Then you won’t be left searching for words when the verdict is guilty.

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