What Should My Profession Be

My earliest knowledge of the legal profession came from a book called To Kill a
Mockingbird. In the book, Atticus Finch, a Southern Alabama lawyer who braely
defended a black man in the heat of racism in !"#$s, though lost the case in the
end, has prompted me to consider for the first time to study law and be a lawyer. I
still remember the court scene where Atticus displayed aliant efforts in trying to
conince the %ury. Although his defense was most comprehensie and logical, the
pre%udiced %ury still decided to conict the accused. It was a heart&breaking and
frustrating moment for a young heart like me that belieed %ustice should always
preail. 'et I was still utterly ama(ed with the power of a lawyer ) a person who
has the ability to fend for someone*s life, to fight for %ustice, barehanded and
without any weapon. To me, this is certainly an ama(ing profession.
This early aspiration to become a lawyer, to seek %ustice and fairness was further
consolidated when I grow older, when I noticed human rights are being trampled
on, most noticeably in the case of the imprisonment of +hing +heong in ,$$- and
the death .or the so called suicide/ of 0i 1angyang in 2une ,$!,. To me, this is
unbelieable that a country could do such things to its own citi(ens, or simply to
anyone else. 3ot to mention the escape and emigration of the blind lawyer +hen
4uangcheng, who was imprisoned in %ail and at his own home, restricted from free
will for 5 years. This certainly was a discouraging moment when +hen, who had
been risking his life in fighting for ciil rights, finally had to fled his country after
a prolonged illegal house arrest. Fortunately when +hen is gone, there are still
uncountable human rights lawyers who, though under pressure, are willing to go
on.
More recently, an interesting book by a renowned law professor, 0etters to a
'oung 0awyer, has prooked me to een more thoughts. The writer, 6rofessor
Alan 7ershowit(, draws a realistic picture of the law profession. 8e talks about the
correct attitude in studying and practising law, how to aoid common pitfalls and
misconceptions. 8e also reealed the inner world of the realm of lawyers, tearing
apart the common beliees of the diine %ustice&seeking profession. Most
importantly, he let me know that pure %ustice cannot be achieed by the mere
efforts of lawyers, simply because the law is not flawless, but %ustice should
definitely be pursued and insisted. 8aing a passion in pursuing what is right,
een against the greatest lure of money and power, is what Alan belieed to be
worthwhile as a lawyer, which truly inspired me.
+hoosing law as my area of study is therefore the first step to actuali(e my
ambition of becoming a lawyer, more specificly a barrister fending for human
rights. I look forward to purposeful learning and a lot of hard work, to prepare
myself to bear the honourable responsibility of fighting for %ustice one day.