THE UTOPIAN LAWYER

April 13, 2011 7:08 AM

Dare to dream!

A high degree of civilisation must be expected from the ideal advocate (attorney; lawyer) as well as a high degree of learning and expertise.

A practical attitude, language skill and rhetorical ability form part of the standard baggage of the utopian advocate. He is not only feared for his razor-sharp analyses, for breaking through reasoning utterly lacking any logic and for turning the attackers of the rule of law to stone, but both friend as well as foe respect his disposition as well as his expertise.

Quite often the utopian advocate will get the feeling that in debating with others he is grazing on a poor meadow. Only a few belonging to the herd will assess his talents at their true value. But as a man of note he relegates this knowledge to the department of ‘trivial facts’. He does not see any reason to respect others less because of this. He acquiesces in the facts. As a guardian of the rule of law, as an aspirant to the High Aim, he is the nobleman who also guards the majority of the nation. His pretences are unassuming. He is a jewel of the society, a lottery ticket out of the evolutionary lottery.

The utopian advocate is averse to adornments. He does not want his friends to recommend him for decorations. Respect, especially the silent kind, that falls to him by the manner in which he uses his talents is sufficient for him. He accepts the fees offered to him from those he assists in seeking justice, not as a reward earned to which he is entitled, because greed for money is foreign to him but on the basis of a sincere, Aristotelian magnanimity and thereby he accepts and acknowledges the dignity of the other. And after he has returned to his forefathers and he has been paid the final honours, he will continue to live in the memories of those who knew him as a man sufficient for men.

I sincerely wish the thrust and parry of that kind of advocate with your opponents!

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

13 April 2011

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