Okay, let me process this: On the reality (Apprentice clone) TV show "the Law Firm" lawyers duke it out in hypothetical suits testing their skills. Moot courts, trial teams, and lawyers do this all the time. The difference (other than being nationally televised) is that “The Law Firm” is an elimination game. The goal of the show is not to be the best lawyer you can be, but to win at all costs! Less than halfway through an episode I had seen all I needed to see. One contestant's plan was to annoy and pressure the other side to the point that they lost focus, which worked, as the other side stated they wanted to win just to crush that pompous jerk. Does this stuff happen in lawyer competitions? All the flippin' time! However, (and I'm going to number my points so you can see how indignant I am) consider this about said real-life competitions:
People that run those competitions hate petty quarreling;
Those competitions are not on prime time TV and therefore don't further affect some of the general public's horrible, horrible opinions on the profession;
All lawyers are supposed to be ethically honest, on pain of fines and disbarment, so how does the "best lawyer" come from a show that promotes winning at all costs?
No comments:
Post a Comment