Ask Howard Treesong About Law or Lawyering

[mmbt0ne]

HT,

1) Do you legitimately enjoy what you do? Everyone I know who is, was or is studying to be a lawyer seems to hate it and that really turned me off from any consideration of a career in law.

2) What is a crook? A group of friends get into this argument a lot after a little drinking. Side A says it's a criminal. Side B says it's only a thief, arguing that a murderer is clearly not a crook. Side A will concede that but argues that it should encompass more than just robbing someone. What is you legal opinion?

[Howard Treesong]

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1) Do you legitimately enjoy what you do? Everyone I know who is, was or is studying to be a lawyer seems to hate it and that really turned me off from any consideration of a career in law.

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Yep. It has long been fashionable to hate lawyers and law practice, but I only rarely feel that way. It's almost always when I'm in some extended fight with an opponent who is outright dishonest, so you have to protect yourself at every turn -- and that's not fun. I didn't think law school was difficult, and I actually enjoyed it a good bit. Practice was annoying for about my first three years, and got really good after that, after I started getting significant courtroom time. I would say that managing litigation is easier than litigating, but without the adrenaline-charged upside of courtroom practice.

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2) What is a crook? A group of friends get into this argument a lot after a little drinking. Side A says it's a criminal. Side B says it's only a thief, arguing that a murderer is clearly not a crook. Side A will concede that but argues that it should encompass more than just robbing someone. What is you legal opinion?

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I think "crook" describes rogues -- frauds, sharpers, cheats. I'd say that Ken Lay and Andy Fastow were crooks, but that Ted Bundy was not. Frank Abagnale was the prototypical crook. And Richard Nixon was likewise a crook, despite his protestations to the contrary.