As we pause for the Thanksgiving holiday, we, like Thoreau, are grateful for what we are and have.

We are grateful that we are lawyers, judges, mediators, arbitrators and other participants in the justice system. We are grateful that as members of a still-noble profession we are protectors of civil rights; prosecutors of the guilty; defenders of the innocent or improperly accused; advocates for the injured; defenders against false or exaggerated claims; trusted advisors to business; and importantly in this election year, guardians of the right to vote, the peaceful conduct of elections and the integrity of the results. We are grateful that malfeasing lawyers who make headlines—election deniers, Molotov cocktail throwers and others—are an infinitesimal segment of our profession that is properly dealt with by our ethics authorities.