LAWYERING

• Lawyer as counselor• Lawyer as advocate• Lawyer as officer of the court

Lawyer as counselor• Examines facts through client & other

interviews, and/or reading material containing facts relevant to client’s case.

• Determines legal issues raised by client’s case.

• Conducts research in order to determine what legal rules apply to these issues.

• Applies these rules to client’s situation. • Reaches a conclusion based on this

application.

Lawyer as counselor (continued)

• After going through the above process, the lawyer is now ready to predict the probable outcome of his/her client’s case.

• Both the above process, and the resulting prediction, are totally objective techniques.

• The lawyer is now ready to advise his/her client as to the outcome of the case.

This advice can be oral….

Or..it could be in writing

Lawyer as advocate

• Knows the strengths & weaknesses of client’s case

• Emphasizes the strengths

• Downplays the weaknesses

• Uses facts, law & public policy to persuade

Emphasizing strengths

• Using similar facts in similar cases to argue results favorable to your client

• Using rules from statutory or case law to argue that your client’s situation should fall within that rule

• Using policy to argue that a result favorable to your client would benefit the general public

Downplaying weaknesses

• Arguing that a rule adverse to your client’s case is inapplicable

• Arguing that the facts in the adverse cases are different from your client’s facts

• Arguing policy matters outside the literal rules such as social change, economic conditions, or unjust results from a literal interpretation of the rules

Lawyer as officer of the court

• Bound by ethical rules to present matters before tribunals without being dishonest about either the facts or the law

• If facts seem to disfavor client, rather than omit them, lawyer should distinguish

• If legal rule seems to disfavor client, again, lawyer should not omit but instead, distinguish

Conclusion

• Lawyer is advisor, advocate and officer of the court

• All three roles are constantly interchangeable

• The good lawyer must balance all three