We are objects of fear and respect.
We are the butt of jokes.
We are working lawyers.
We can act with surpassing nobility; we can do what has to be done.
We can raise fundamental issues of constitutional law; we can fuss over matters so seemingly trivial that our adversaries scream in frustration.
We live lives of furious action: impossible deadlines, contentious negotiations, courtroom confrontations.
We live lives, also, of bookish research and quiet meditation.
We are conversant not only with the law, but with all the world’s knowledge and experience.
We can speak knowledgeably with neurosurgeons; we understand the dynamics of a barroom brawl.
We can be wealthy beyond the dreams of Croesus; we can scramble for rent money while the other side lingers over a settlement offer.
One day, overwhelmed by setbacks, we curse the day we entered law school; the next day, a favorable verdict or ruling intoxicates us into thinking, once again, that the life of the working lawyer is the sweetest in the world.
To our clients, we are knights in shining armor; to adversaries, unscrupulous pettifoggers.
We are working lawyers.
We love it.
We hate it.
And, when all is said and done, we can’t think of anything else we’d rather be.
– Anonymous (from the Internet)