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.
I don't think you've romanticized it at all. You've made it very clear that your job is really fucking hard; that you work your ass off and it breaks your heart and sometimes no matter what you do, it's not enough. And that you still love it. And why you still love it. Which is nifty.
I can't disagree with your assertion that being a criminal defense lawyer is the "coolest job around." Not because I necessarily agree, but because it's impossible to disagree with such a vague and subjective assertion.
For the same reason, Matt Kaiser's not wrong either. Images of criminal defense lawyer as rock star, of whatever passes for cool these days, even with the caveat that it's hard work, fails to convey much to the lawyer or law student pondering where to spend the rest of their lives.
But the message that keeps smacking me in the face is that criminal defense lawyers talk like drunken sailors, cursing wildly and for no particular reason. Next thing you know, criminal defense lawyers will have a festish-like concern over women's shoes, with peep toes (whatever they are) being of particular interest.
While I may have no clue what constitutes cool, no less coolest, jobs, it is misleading to suggest we all have potty mouths and obsess over footwear. A nice pair of wing tips will last more than 20 years, even though they look like shit.