I Am Not My Clients

Policy Review Online has an interesting (but dated) article by Lee Casey and David Rivkin, Jr. about how people use a lawyer's prior clients and arguments against him, particularly in the political arena. Should a lawyer suffer guilt by association because of his clients? I certainly hope not - I'm not a drug dealer, pedophile, or bank robber just because I represent them. But, as a PD, I think we get a sort of "pass" because everyone agrees that we provided a needed function. And, of course, other lawyers don't want to do the job. Private attorneys are a little different, however, as they can (theoretically, of course) walk away from clients who seek to achieve unjust or immoral goals. Should the attorney who takes big bucks to help a corporation shield as much of its assets from taxation as possible (completely legally) pay the piper later in life if he seeks public office? I'm not sure.