2 answers
Michelle
Student
Whitelaw, Wisconsin
1
Question
Asked
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How can I be a good criminal lawyer and keep my morals?
I am a 12th grader with a strong catholic faith and I am pursuing a career in law. I enjoy music and cooking as well as reading and public speaking. I am looking to be able to have a successful career without sacrificing my beliefs
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2 answers
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
1085
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Michelle,
In the legal system, an accused has the right to a fair trial and the right to legal representation. They are also assumed innocent until proven guilty. Working as a criminal lawyer is not about your beliefs and morals. You can certainly reject to take on a case if you feel strongly that you can't represent a client fairly because of your beliefs. But if you accept a case you owe the client the best defense a legal mind can come up with to get them the lowest sentence possible or have them acquitted.
If you feel very strongly about your morals and beliefs, different fields of law might be more suitable. You could work in environmental law and work on behalf of environmental organizations. You could work in health law and help clients with medical malpractice suits. You could work in immigration law and help people who have been unlawfully detained and deported. There are lots of causes that lawyers can be involved in and use their knowledge of the law to benefit society.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
In the legal system, an accused has the right to a fair trial and the right to legal representation. They are also assumed innocent until proven guilty. Working as a criminal lawyer is not about your beliefs and morals. You can certainly reject to take on a case if you feel strongly that you can't represent a client fairly because of your beliefs. But if you accept a case you owe the client the best defense a legal mind can come up with to get them the lowest sentence possible or have them acquitted.
If you feel very strongly about your morals and beliefs, different fields of law might be more suitable. You could work in environmental law and work on behalf of environmental organizations. You could work in health law and help clients with medical malpractice suits. You could work in immigration law and help people who have been unlawfully detained and deported. There are lots of causes that lawyers can be involved in and use their knowledge of the law to benefit society.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Michelle M.
Actress
3276
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Michelle !
It's great that you already know the career you will pursue and this is a good time to explore the work involved in becoming a Lawyer.
If you go into Criminal Law, it is not about compromising your morals or beliefs. Being a lawyer is about defending clients. If you remember that anyone who is arrested, accused of a crime and brought into court has the right to a defense and fair trial that will help you understand what lawyers do. It doesn't mean that you think that the crime is okay or that you're advocating for the criminal's behavior, it just means that you would be finding laws and evidence around the case to present in a legal manner to a judge and jury on behalf of your client.
If you are worried about working with criminals, you can always choose a different focus for your law practice. Even though you would not have to change your personal values, you would be around some very intense criminals under some very sensitive circumstances that involve children, deceased people, damage and other types of cases and you would have to have a neutral mindset and be able to withstand hearing and seeing some unpleasant things depending on the particular case. So more than changing your values, you'd need to know your tolerance level for things that may sound and appear disturbing.
The types of cases you would work on are assault, battery, murder, manslaughter, and sexu@l offenses like r@pe and molestation. Crimes against property like burglary, larceny, theft, arson, and automobile theft, where the unlawful taking or destruction of another's property is involved. There would also be drug related offenses, drunk driving cases, financial crimes, a subset of property crimes, involving fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and tax evasion. If these subjects and seeking justice for an accused person seem like something you can be around on a daily basis, criminal law just may be for you. If not, there are very many other types of law that you can go into.
It is way too soon to settle upon a specialty in law while you're still in high school. You will have an undergraduate path for which you could major in Government or Political Science and then on to Law School. If you're not sure of a specific type of law now, that's okay. You will discover your niche through college and Law School as you will become better informed through those paths.
Some of the other types of law that you can consider are Corporate Law, Environmental Law, Health Care Law, Cybersecurity and Privacy Law, Labor and Employment Law, Family Law, and the more low key type of law is trusts and estates law, including estate planning and probate. You can start reading about these now to obtain a clear picture of what they're about, but you have lots of time to decide in case you decide not to go with criminal law.
Consider sitting in at your local criminal court to see how the work is done by the lawyer and other court staff. This would give you an idea of how the work is.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best !
It's great that you already know the career you will pursue and this is a good time to explore the work involved in becoming a Lawyer.
If you go into Criminal Law, it is not about compromising your morals or beliefs. Being a lawyer is about defending clients. If you remember that anyone who is arrested, accused of a crime and brought into court has the right to a defense and fair trial that will help you understand what lawyers do. It doesn't mean that you think that the crime is okay or that you're advocating for the criminal's behavior, it just means that you would be finding laws and evidence around the case to present in a legal manner to a judge and jury on behalf of your client.
If you are worried about working with criminals, you can always choose a different focus for your law practice. Even though you would not have to change your personal values, you would be around some very intense criminals under some very sensitive circumstances that involve children, deceased people, damage and other types of cases and you would have to have a neutral mindset and be able to withstand hearing and seeing some unpleasant things depending on the particular case. So more than changing your values, you'd need to know your tolerance level for things that may sound and appear disturbing.
The types of cases you would work on are assault, battery, murder, manslaughter, and sexu@l offenses like r@pe and molestation. Crimes against property like burglary, larceny, theft, arson, and automobile theft, where the unlawful taking or destruction of another's property is involved. There would also be drug related offenses, drunk driving cases, financial crimes, a subset of property crimes, involving fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and tax evasion. If these subjects and seeking justice for an accused person seem like something you can be around on a daily basis, criminal law just may be for you. If not, there are very many other types of law that you can go into.
It is way too soon to settle upon a specialty in law while you're still in high school. You will have an undergraduate path for which you could major in Government or Political Science and then on to Law School. If you're not sure of a specific type of law now, that's okay. You will discover your niche through college and Law School as you will become better informed through those paths.
Some of the other types of law that you can consider are Corporate Law, Environmental Law, Health Care Law, Cybersecurity and Privacy Law, Labor and Employment Law, Family Law, and the more low key type of law is trusts and estates law, including estate planning and probate. You can start reading about these now to obtain a clear picture of what they're about, but you have lots of time to decide in case you decide not to go with criminal law.
Consider sitting in at your local criminal court to see how the work is done by the lawyer and other court staff. This would give you an idea of how the work is.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best !
Thank you so much! This is super helpful!
Michelle
You are very welcome, Michelle !
Michelle M.