I love the law- #LawDay 26th November

I love the law. What I love is the fact that it is, at its heart, basically just an agreement between you and me and all of us that we will trust in a set of rules and remedies – and a system of courts and judges that we basically created – to resolve our disputes.Aristotle said, “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.” Look around the world at places where the rule of law does not exist or is in serious peril and I think you find that Aristotle was absolutely correct. That is why I love the law.

For me, our social agreement that the law should exist – and that it works – is an amazing social miracle and a wonderful system for conflict resolution.

For some, the law is a green-eyed mistress who jealously demands attention every waking hour, sucking the life from their souls. Those lawyers probably do not practice family law. I am a family law practitioner, which is a fancy way of saying I help people through difficult times. One day, the client might be a father desperately trying to reconnect with his young son. Other times, the client is a single mom trying to collect child support. Making a difference in people’s lives is a blessing. How could anyone not love that?

I love the law because it requires mutual adherence to established rules resulting in orderly resolution of disputes that no other part of our society can resolve. I love the dignity of the courtroom, the privilege of representing others and the wisdom and experience required to do so effectively. I love that no day brings the same challenges as the day before.

Now I’m not saying that it is perfect. And I’m definitely not saying that we all agree on exactly what the laws should be or say or require or do. But I do love that fundamentally, as a core element of our society, we have agreed that there should be laws.

This is not true in all countries. I have been fascinated to hear stories from seniors about jurists who are working on developing the rule of law in other parts of the world where that social contract does not exist or exists only in very limited functionalities. And frequently in the absence of the rule of law, people resort to their own ideas of enforcement and appropriate restitution for alleged harms or to managing their conflict through violence. So, I believe that our legal system – although imperfect and sometimes even disappointing – is overall a beautiful thing.

Do you agree that lawyers can be heroes? Is it okay to proclaim my love for the legal profession? Tell me what you think! Happy Law Day, all!

{an excerpt from One Justice by Shantanu Sharma, Edited(input) by Legal Bites}