Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Are an Attorney's Clients Relevant?
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_02_22-2009_02_28.shtml#1235494710
Some conservatives have attacked President Obama's pick for Deputy
Attorney General, David Ogden, because he has represented some
"controversial" clients, including Playboy and the ACLU. Former Reagan
and Bush (41) Administration attorneys David Rivkin and Lee Casey
think this is unfair. In the Legal Times[1] they argue:
The premise of this opposition is a familiar one�that lawyers must
be presumed to agree with, or be sympathetic to, the clients they
represent or, at a minimum, that they should be held accountable
for the arguments they advance on a client�s behalf. In fact, of
course, lawyers represent clients for many and varied reasons�for
money or fame, out of a sense of duty, an interest in a particular
subject matter, or for professional growth and development.
Sometimes lawyers are motivated by all of the above, and more.
It is simply inaccurate to attribute to a lawyer his or her
client�s beliefs. That is just not the way our legal system
works�at least not all the time.
Sometimes, of course, lawyers do personally agree with the client�s
substantive views and the legal positions they advance. There is no
doubt that lawyers are often drawn to a particular area of
practice, or undertake to represent particular clients�especially
on a pro bono basis�because they do believe in the client�s cause.
It is possible, however, to believe in a client�s cause�a broad
application of free speech rights, for example�and not to approve
of the client�s personal behavior or business model.
And, just as a lawyer�s character cannot be judged based on a
client list, neither can a lawyer�s policy preferences easily be
divined by reading his or her briefs. Lawyers must represent their
clients zealously, and this means they often must deploy legal
arguments with which they personally disagree.
They also remind Ogden's conservative critics that the Right
rightfully objected when the Left went after some of George W. Bush's
nominees for having represented politically unpopular industries or
conservative groups. As they note, if highly qualified lawyers are
punished for representing unpopular or controversial clients, we all
lose. A longer exposition of their views can be found in [2]this 2002
article from Policy Review.
References
1.
http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202428401266&hub=SpecialReportsFront
2. http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/3461701.html
_______________________________________________
Volokh mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
