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Telling Stories And Keeping Secrets, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Nothing is better than a good story. You don't need to be a trial lawyer to know this, but you wouldn't be a very good trial lawyer if you didn't. There is a reason trial lawyers are favored dinner party guests: if the food is a flop, the energy level low, and the people in attendance do not have much in common, there will at least be a good story for entertainment. Good trial lawyers have the gift of gab and a bounty of endless material.

Criminal trial lawyers have it even better. They don't just recount tales involving conflict …

Lawyers As Upholders Of Human Dignity (When They Aren't Busy Assaulting It), David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

David Luban argues in this lecture that the moral foundation of the lawyer's profession lies in the defense of human dignity-and the chief moral danger facing the profession arises when lawyers assault human dignity rather than defend it. The concept of human dignity has a rich philosophical tradition, with some philosophers identifying human dignity as a metaphysical property of individuals-a property such as having a soul, or possessing autonomy. Luban argues instead that human dignity is a relational property of "the dignifier" and "the dignified," emphasizing that assaulting human dignity humiliates the victim. Lawyers honor the human dignity of others …