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You paid your dues, worked hard in law school and came out near the top of your class.  You’re anything but jaded, ready to take on your first client, right?  If you’ve gone into criminal law, as prepared as you are, there are those cases that leave you scratching your head and wondering why you chose this particular legal sector as your career.  A. Harrison Barnes, attorney and founder of LawCrossing.com says it’s almost a rite of passage for many young lawyers who enter criminal law.  Even when you know the evidence will prove your client’s innocence, it can be a difficult journey getting there.

Then, there are those clients who are guilty.  This is a true test of your fortitude, says the LawCrossing.com founder.  Still, it’s important to approach every case as though it’s the most important in your life.  Your client’s own family doesn’t believe him?  Be the sole stander for him, then.  Think you can get your client off with just probation?  Prepare your case as though you’re defending the client in the case of the century.  A. Harrison Barnes reminds young lawyers that clients will likely only seen one major case in their lives, if of course, they’re not career criminals.  You, on the other hand, will become so accustomed to the process, the players and even the smells of the courtrooms that you’ll soon forget how intimidating just the sight of a courtroom can be.  You want to be sure you represent your client not only in front of a judge, jury and prosecutor, but you want to represent him to the extent he has faith in your abilities and is secure in knowing that while it might be new for him, you know your job and you know how to do it well.

Also, Barnes reiterates that law school simply does not prepare young attorneys for what they face on a daily basis.  You gain your education, learn the legal system in all its glory and then you’re let loose to discover the entirely unseen side of that same justice system.  Even as you’re preparing your resume, interviewing with partners and attempting to plot your course, there will be few times throughout your career that you’re not caught speechless or off guard by some unexpected turn of events.  Life is like that…but life as a lawyer is an entirely different animal.

So as you prepare yourself to move forward, and as you eagerly set out to change the world, keep in mind there are real clients who need your energy, your knowledge and your faith – even when you’re the only one who has it to give to him.  Guilty or innocent, the American justice system is consistent and definitive, says the LawCrossing.com founder.  Your job is to play the role of the superb attorney you know you are.

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