Ronald N. Levy (3/15):
If you and I are guilty of the sins committed by our clients and managements, we're in trouble. The seven deadly sins are wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony--and some senior corporate officers have at times been guilty of many.
Killing people seems sinful and killing millions especially sinful yet many good people work for makers of warplanes, cigarettes and other products that kill.
Perhaps you and I and Florida's former Lieutenant Governor deserve to be judged on our merits, the good and the bad, not by our clients.
I doubt whether surgeons, car mechanics or PR executives should require potential employers to pass a morality test.
Federal Judge Jed Rakoff was once a top criminal defense lawyer who vigorously and successfully defended clients and once did an article for The New York Law Journal answering the question: "How can you defend people like that?"
Today Judge Rakoff could say on behalf of the public, "Vengeance is mine." But America's system requires defense lawyers as well as judges, plus PR experts who help clients communicate. |