On Lawyers

"The lawyer's first thought in the morning is how to handle the case of the ringing alarm clock."

"I'm trusting in the Lord and a good lawyer."

"I'm not a potted plant. I'm here as the lawyer. That's my job."

"If there is any truth to the old proverb that 'one who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client,' the Court . . . now bestows a constitutional right on one to make a fool of himself."

"I am a trial lawyer. . . . Matilda says that at dinner on a good day I sound like an affidavit."

"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress."

"Law students are trained in the case method, and to the lawyer everything in life looks like a case."

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."

"Lawyers are necessary in a community. Some of you . . . take a different view; but as I am a member of that legal profession, or was at one time, and have only lost standing in it to become a politician, I still retain the pride of the profession. And I still insist that it is the law and the lawyer that make popular government under a written constitution and written statutes possible."

"Most people aren't appreciated enough, and the bravest things we do in our lives are usually known only to ourselves. No one throws ticker tape on the man who chose to be faithful to his wife, on the lawyer who didn't take the drug money, or the daughter who held her tongue again and again. All this anonymous heroism."

"But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. Don't scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord."

"Resolve to be honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation, rather than one in the choosing of which you do, in advance, consent to be a knave."

"Concepts of justice must have hands and feet . . . to carry out justice in every case in the shortest possible time and the lowest possible cost. This is the challenge to every lawyer and judge in America."

"No other profession is subject to the public contempt and derision that sometimes befalls lawyers. . . . the bitter fruit of public incomprehension of the law itself and its dynamics."

"Doctors . . . still retain a high degree of public confidence because they are perceived as healers. Should lawyers not be healers? Healers, not warriors? Healers, not procurers? Healers, not hired guns?"

"The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for to-morrow which can be done to-day."

"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser - in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough."

"We sue each other too much and care for each other too little."

"Yes, you came when I called; you told me, 'Do not fear.'  Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case!  For you have redeemed my life. You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord.  Be my judge, and prove me right."

"Extemporaneous speaking should be practised [sic] and cultivated. It is the lawyer's avenue to the public. . . . And yet there is not a more fatal error to young lawyers than relying too much on speechmaking. If any one, upon his rare powers of speaking, shall claim an exemption from the drudgery of the law, his case is a failure in advance."

"The First Rule of Law: 'This Bar Exam will take 6 hours to complete - but we'll tell everyone that it took 12.' "

"What a holler would ensue if people had to pay the minister as much to marry them as they have to pay a lawyer to get them a divorce."

"Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given everything they need. Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive. Everybody here sends greetings. Please give my greetings to the believers—all who love us.  May God's grace be with you all."

"Be prepared, be sharp, be careful, and use the King's English well. And you can forget all the [other rules] unless you remember one more: Get paid."