I’m hopeful that my friend Matt Kaiser is wrong, that I’ve not mythologized criminal defense and it’s place in the legal profession.  I hope that people who are thinking of becoming criminal defense lawyers aren’t doing it because they think we walk around with wings of angels or carry cool, wet cloths to wipe weary brows as we pass through cell blocks.  My wish is that people who are reading this know that it is really fucking hard work and a lot of the people we meet along the way haven’t been friendly or neighborly and have committed, perhaps, some dastardly deeds.  A lot of it is menial, as a friend in a foreign land says “scan, stamp, print, send” and a lot of it involves hours in cars, or trying to get into jails or just, you know, work type stuff.

With all of that said and out of the way, I still maintain that it’s the coolest job around.

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