Olsen On Law Attorney Rob Solomon

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Why I became a Lawyer

Attorney Rob Solomon

It probably wasn't "Perry Mason" or "The Defenders". It certainly wasn't "Matlock". I can say with absolute certainty that T.V.'s popular images of criminal law were not exactly inspirational. Even at the ripe age of 10, I was beginning to wonder what in heavens name was going on in those fictional courtrooms. What kind of judge lets people shout out their guilt from the gallery. How come the prosecutor, Hamilton Berger, never won a single case against Attorney Mason. Now that's a job with low job satisfaction.

It probably was Atticus Finch. The quiet and respectful small town lawyer in "To Kill a Mockingbird" layered the fictional character with an abiding sense of decency and purpose. To the likes of Attorney Finch, law had little to do with craftsmanship, knowledge or even success. It was there to seek justice, to right wrongs, to improve the world. When Atticus accepted a criminal case that pitted him against the forces of evil he took up a battle now fought with pens and paper and law books. Law, hitherto imbued with gamesmanship, now was instilled with nobility.

I probably never unburdened myself of such a view of the role of the criminal defense lawyer although adulthood put a more realistic slant on things. In truth, even the likes of Atticus Finch handled a thousand cases in which there was hardly a hint of earth- shattering implication. Most of our lives, after all, are rather more ordinary, our legal problems of a somewhat more normal variety. Our hero had to walk the walk day in and day out with DUIs, and petty thefts, assaults and burglaries. I knew that there had to be a daily motivation, something short of saving the world, that inspired and motivated the real life lawyer to excel. I just wasn't sure exactly what it was.

For that reason, I didn't leave college and go directly to Law School. I had my own doubts about how things really worked and wanted to experience the world on its own terms before I presumed to be a lawyer or anything else. I had this notion that there was a thing called "real work" where people used elbow grease and rested long and hard at the end of each and every day. In my own youthful and naive way I embarked on this path without knowing it would be many years before I heard again the call of the law.

As a result of this detour I can honestly say that I am one of but a few Attorneys who is also a factory trained car mechanic. I've busted more then a few knuckles installing fuel pumps and brake shoes and I have more then a passing idea as to what "real work" really is. Along the way, I have been a grave digger, a vodka bottling plant employee, and a janitor. No need to go on with the list...you get the idea. Somewhere, probably amid vodka bottle labels, I came to see just how persistent life's problems can be and how every act, no matter how small, makes a difference in the world. I got the notion that Atticus wasn't defined by his one grand act of nobility but by a thousand small acts of help offered day in and day out. I thought the practice of law gave him that opportunity.

Which brings me back around to the reasons why I am an attorney, a litigator, a Defense lawyer. By the time people get around to seeing a person such as myself a very real and very unpleasant legal problem has presented itself. I am not a magician: I can't pull a rabbit out of a hat. What I can be is a sure and experienced hand at the rudder through what are most assuredly choppy waters. I seek to redeem the innocent, when innocent they may be. I seek to control and minimize when innocent they are not. I will be their ally, their one certain helping hand, even when others are long gone. At the end of the day, I want to say that I have taken a bad situation and made it better.

The world of Criminal Defense Law is not for the weak of heart. It demands a devotion to principals which are not generally understood or admired by other lawyers let alone the public. Even my wife wonders at times how I can perform such work. But each day I am inspired to make sure that every person has their day in court and that everyone has an opportunity to tell their side of the story. It is sometimes the hardest of criminals who truly needs to be counseled in the old fashion sense of the word. They need to hear it straight from someone they trust. I can tell you I've had plenty of those conversations in my career.

At the other extreme are people like you and me but who have made a mistake behind the wheel or in some other aspect of their life. They now find themselves in a system that is foreign and anxiety provoking. Chances are they will never pass this way again and need you to help them find a path out of the legal maze. Quite simply they are scared. Your experience can be their experience, your eyes their eyes. When the case is over you'll wish them good luck and say " I hope I never see you again." It's nothing personal, but you know they agree.

When all is said and done the real world of Criminal Defense looks little like that portrayed on T.V..It requires hard work and good sense, day in and day out. You do it for your clients and your craft and on some of the hardest days, for the Constitution. If you have no better reason to do it then maybe you shouldn't be doing it at all. Now a days I think of it as "real work".