Of the thousand odd superheroes created till today, I haven’t come across one decent lawyer superhero. Well there was a Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, but let’s face it, he’s no Batman! Considering that lawyers are the true upholders of justice, you’d think there would be more legally powered caped crusaders out there…
Perhaps the lack of costume is because a lawyer’s job can’t be done with the benefit of a mask. A lawyer’s job, any legal job for that matter, is all about unmasking the law. It’s about understanding the nuances of each framed legislation, and then using this knowledge to help their client. Not an easy task, I assure you.
To quote Plato, “Laws are partly formed for the sake of good men, in order to instruct them how they may live on friendly terms with one another, and partly for the sake of those who refuse to be instructed, whose spirit cannot be subdued, or softened, or hindered from plunging into evil.” The lawyer’s job is to make sure that the laws that have been framed are upheld. His job is to guide and protect the ‘good’ man and prevent and punish those ‘whose spirits cannot be subdued.’ In the most basic sense, the job of the lawyer is to protect the innocent and punish the villain.
The innumerable legislatures make this a daunting task for any man, but an impossible task for one man. No one person can know and understand all the laws. This has naturally resulted in a division of labour in the legal industry. Just as you have your cardiothoracic surgeons and your neurosurgeons, similarly those in the legal profession have their own chosen specialties. A very broad classifications of lawyers in the legal profession would be into two fields of law – litigation and corporate.
‘Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family. In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson!’ (Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird) This is one of the classic examples of a litigation lawyer. Litigation law relates to the entire process of filing a lawsuit, discovery and investigation of facts, trials, judgments and awards of damages. Reggie Love in John Grisham’s The Client, Alan Shore of Boston Legal or even Tom Cruise in a Few Good Men…all portray litigation lawyers. I would even go so far as to say that the world recognizes law through litigation lawyers. If ‘all the world’s a stage’, then litigation lawyers are the actors of this play.
If litigation lawyers depict law on the stage, corporate lawyers work behind the scenes. Corporate law is a branch of jurisprudence that studies the laws governing corporations. Mergers and acquisitions, banking law, contracts, intellectual property rights – all are dealt with by corporate lawyers. They might not wear the black coats with the white collars, but they deal with a good amount of white collar crimes. These are the guys Bill Gates would hire.
Within this genus classification, lawyers may further specialize into, say, criminal lawyers, family law lawyers, real estate lawyers under Litigation Law or perhaps IP lawyers, lawyers dealing with contracts etc under Corporate Law. Apart from this species classification, there are also the jobs of paralegals, court clerks and other members of the legal profession that are yet to be classified.
Paralegals or Legal assistants are those persons who assist attorneys. They have knowledge and expertise of the substantive and procedural law enforced in their country, and are thus qualified to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney. A Court Clerk is an officer appointed by the court to work with the Presiding Officer or Judge in overseeing the court's administration. He assists in managing the flow of cases through the court and maintains the court records. Though often not given the recognition they deserve, they perform an irreplaceable service for the legal community.
All in all, regardless of how a person is connected with the legal profession, he has the invaluable job of upholding justice. In the words of Earl Warren, “It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive,” and lawyers are undoubtedly the spirit of law. The legal fraternity is the true Justice League.