Well, you know, two chiefs ago, Chief Justice Burger, used to complain about the low quality of counsel. I used to have just the opposite reaction. I used to be disappointed that so many of the best minds in the country were being devoted to this enterprise. I mean there’d be a, you know, a defense or public defender from Podunk, you know, and this woman is really brilliant, you know. Why isn’t she out inventing the automobile or, you know, doing something productive for this society?
I mean lawyers, after all, don’t produce anything. They enable other people to produce and to go on with their lives efficiently and in an atmosphere of freedom. That’s important, but it doesn’t put food on the table and there have to be other people who are doing that. And I worry that we are devoting too many of our very best minds to this enterprise.
And they appear here in the Court, I mean, even the ones who will only argue here once and will never come again. I’m usually impressed with how good they are. Sometimes you get one who’s not so good. But, no, by and large I don’t have any complaint about the quality of counsel, except maybe we’re wasting some of our best minds.
(WSJ Legal Blog)
On first blush, I agree with him. The biggest changes in my lifetime seem to come primarily from the realm of science and technology. (ie: the internet, iPhones, computers, medicines, Google, etc.) However, his statement is a gross oversimplification.
Lawyers do produce goods in a way. Lawyers draft wills, trusts, contracts, legislation, and briefs which affect public policy. We ensure that our society is governed by law. Prosecutors help stop crime by putting criminals in jail. Defense attorneys protect their clients rights. Judges insure fair trials. Consider landmark decisions such as Brown v. Board (intergrated schools), Miranda v. Arizona (“You have the right to remain silent…”), Gideon v. Wainwright (right to counsel). While lawyers don’t produce goods in a traditional sense, they have produced positive social change which has affected peoples’ lives as much or more as new technology and science.
