A 747 full of lawyers is flying to a lawyer convention. The plane crashes into a mountainside killing all on board. What is the tragedy?

A seat was open.

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With the exception of Marcia Clark, lawyers today seem to be in full retreat. Not only have they been battered by the endless stream of jokes and ridicule, but their hold on political power in this country has been dealt a serious setback in recent elections. Americans hate lawyers.

They seem slick and speak a language all their own, while the rest of society is vulnerable to their litigation. They tell us we cannot have a manger displayed on a courthouse lawn because it violates the separation of church and state. They get guilty clients off on a technicality, and it seems they fight for the rights of criminals at the expense of the greater good. Lawyers don't seem to be interested in justice.

The truth is that most lawyers are not supposed to be interested in justice. Lawyers are only spokespersons for their clients and nothing more. Lawyers do not have to make moral judgments about the actions or beliefs of their clients. It is not their job to do so.

Lawyers are responsible to execute their clients' cases in the most effective way possible. If the argument is nothing more than a lie, then the lawyer must present that lie in the most effective way possible. Jerry Spence and most other defense lawyers do not want to know whether or not their clients have committed the double homicide. A lawyer attacks or defends, for a client, to the best of his or her ability under the law. The judicial system is designed that way for a reason.

The adversative trial system gives clients a chance to present their side of the story, no matter how convoluted and far from the truth it may be. This is the only system that provides for a civilized and structured search for the truth. Sometimes the truth is not found and justice is not done, but the system provides outlets for those occurrences as well.

Too often highly publicized trials make it seem as though the system has run amok. Lawyers in high-priced suits parade before the cameras. They yell racism when none exists. They come up with incredible defenses and surprise witnesses from out of the blue. Every tricky courtroom tactic is attempted. If they get really desperate, they blame their clients' predicaments on a conspiracy. It is a lawyer's duty to push the envelope of legality to its limits in order to serve the interests of their clients.

The best lawyers are the ones who believe in their clients, even when the public cannot. To not try every avenue, even ones which may offend and turn society against itself, would be the greatest injustice. The truth, hopefully, will become apparent during trial and the evidence should outweigh all the windowdressing that a good lawyer can apply. Even the most despicable are entitled to a trial. We trust in the adversative court system to bring this truth into the light.

In fulfilling their duty to the system, lawyers seem to be liars, but in actuality they are just tools to be used by a client. It is up to the judge or jury to decide which case that those tools have crafted is the truth.

The courtroom is the battleground where our civilized society decides what is wrong and what is right. Ralph Nader "researches and destroys" corporations and legislation that he believes are doing harm. The National Organization for Women, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union all litigate in order to change society.

Corporate lawyers try to evade taxation. Tort lawyers carry out the orders of their clients to recover damages. No matter how great or low the cause, lawyers are carrying out the wishes of segments of our society.

Most of our politicians are lawyers, and with their political, monetary and judicial power they seem to hold all the cards. That is a correct view when we look at lawyers as political tools. Whether they are representing clients, causes, groups or themselves, lawyers play an integral role in shaping our society.

It is this power to change society that brings forth animosity. As tools working within the system to change the way society operates, lawyers cannot help but create friction. When they carry out their clients' wishes against the greater will of the public, lawyers create hatred. This hatred is usually directed at the legal profession in general. We must look at lawyers for the function they perform, and not judge them by who or what they represent.

Our adversative trial system dictates that lawyers represent their clients, and act only in the interests of their clients -- even if it means playing devil's advocate.

We can either settle our differences through violence or through lawyers. When looking at a world of violent alternatives for establishing justice, our legal profession, even with all of its failings, is still a truly noble profession.