We now face crises in our economy, our ecology and our standing as the leader of the free world. To address these concerns, President-elect Barack Obama, a lawyer himself, has drawn on the legal profession more than any other to fill high-level posts. These appointments include Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Ron Kirk, Janet Napolitano, Ken Salazar and Tom Vilsack. But how often do we hear these talented individuals described as lawyers rather than as politicians? Attorney General Holder aside, they merely happen to have a law degree.
That economists in government are “economists,” but most lawyers in government are not “lawyerly,” suggests a problem with both our profession’s reputation and its self-perception. The vaunted image of the “citizen-lawyer,” who deploys legal skills to serve the common good, has thoroughly disappeared from the popular imagination. Lawyers are seen as defending clients, not building societies.
