Here
are Cheryl Thill, Doug Cuthbertson and Ilana Friedman reflecting on the
connection between lawyers and politics soon after the recent election.
Cheryl and Ilana are a bit more skeptical than Doug about how strong a
connection there is between legal training and politics.
Cheryl
and Ilana see the connection as fairly weak - law school prepares students in
some respects which may cause some lawyers to be motivated to pursue politics,
while Doug suggests that the daily work of lawyers exposes them to the bigger
questions behind the laws with which they work, motivating them to pursue
politics.
I am
more inclined towards Doug's view, but Cheryl and Ilana remind me that it may
just be a lawyer's conceit. As a law professor, I would like to think we
are teaching our students about justice and how the law can make our society
better.
But
many other people are also concerned about justice and making society better. There
is a long American tradition of great skepticism about the claim that any kind
of education or background should give one a special role in exercising
authority. Those who hold that skeptical view may note that lawyers have long
been over represented at all levels of American government, but that may be
best explained by sociological analysis and may not reflect a particularly
desirable state of affairs.
As I
note, I take a different view. I think there is a deeper connection
between lawyers and politics. Lawyers are not the only people who
have thought about our aspirations for justice and equality, but the law does
provide one important lens through which we have long analyzed those
ideas.
What's
more, although many will disagree with me, in my experience as a law student
and teacher in three different law schools, law school and the legal culture
are both quite concerned with notions of justice and equality. We might
do it differently and we could certainly do it better, but so long as the law
is one of our major tools for social control and social change, I hope lawyers
will continue to step up to the plate.
Eliot Spitzer, Law School, Lawyers, Politics, Fordham, Legal Education
