THE
GOOD LAWYER
Until late in his
career, Theodore B. Olson held rock
star status in conservative legal
circles. As head of the Office of
Legal Counsel in the Reagan
Administration, Olson led drives to
ease government regulation and to
end race-based busing and
affirmative action programs. As
solicitor general in the George W.
Bush Administration, Olson defended
the government’s anti-terrorism
policies. When attorneys for Paula
Jones took their case alleging
sexual harassment by Bill Clinton to
the Supreme Court, Olson was who
they turned to for help in preparing
their argument. Conservatives most
revered Olson, however, for arguing
the 2000 election case of Bush
v. Gore before the Supreme
Court. A white quill commemorating
his argument in that case, along
with fifty-six other quills marking
each of his Supreme Court
appearances, is displayed in his
office near a framed photograph of
Ronald Reagan, inscribed with
“heartfelt thanks.”
Seeking Quality in the
Practice of Law
by DOUGLAS O. LINDER and
NANCY LEVIT (Oxford
University Press, 2013)
The Good Lawyer
About
The Good Lawyer
Preface
Introductory
Note
The
Good Lawyer is Courageous
The
Good Lawyer is Empathetic
The
Good Lawyer Has a Passion for Justice
The
Good Lawyer Uses Both Intuition and
Deliberative Thinking
The
Good Lawyer Thinks realistically About the
Future
The
Good Lawyer Serves the True Interests of
Clients
The
Good Lawyer Has Ample Willpower
The
Good Lawyer is Persuasive
Seeking
Quality
Quotes
Random
Facts
The
Happy Lawyer
Excerpt from
Chapter 4:
The Good Lawyer Values Others in the
Legal Community
In 2008, the
voters of California narrowly passed
Proposition 8, which amended the
California Constitution to prohibit
gay marriage and effectively
nullified recent legislation enacted
by the California legislature
authorizing such marriages. . . .
More because of Olson’s strong
conservative credentials than in
spite of them, the decision was made
to call Olson see if he would lead
the challenge against Prop 8. Olson
said, “I really did not need to give
it a great deal of thought.” He
accepted the offer.
After Olson
agreed to take on the gay marriage
case, he worried that many
supporters of gay marriage would
raise hell about “this right-winger”
having control of a case so close to
their hearts. Olson expressed
concern that when news of his
representation got out, “It would be
more about me than about the case.”
So he called an old friend and
biking trip companion that he had
opposed in a courtroom in
Tallahassee in the weeks following
the 2000 election, David Boies.
Would Boies, he wondered, join
forces to challenge the
constitutionality of California’s
Prop 8? Boies, the champion of many
liberal causes, jumped at the
chance. The press quickly labeled
the two lawyers “the Odd Couple,” as
if there were something distinctly
unusual about a Democratic lawyer
and a Republican lawyer working
together on a case.
For Olson, and
for Boies, there was nothing odd
about their partnership. Olson
described Boies as “one of the most
remarkable, skilled, talented
lawyers that I’ve ever known . . . .
He’s a marvel to watch in the
courtroom. He’s been an absolute,
unmitigated pleasure every step of
the way. He’s a wonderful colleague
and a very, very dear friend.” Don’t
think, however, the two men now see
eye-to-eye on Bush v. Gore.
They kid each other about the case
and Olson praises the work Boies did
on the Florida recount case. “I tell
him now that he almost persuaded me,
but not quite,” Olson said. Despite
their political differences, each
lawyer expresses respect for the
views of the other.
Can Liberals and Conservatives
Be Friends?
There are, of
course, reasons why deep friendships
blossom more frequently between
persons with similar political
outlooks. Humans are naturally
groupish, and we have long used
politics and religion as bases for
our grouping. We empathize more
readily with members of our group
and feel a sense of loyalty to
members in our group that makes us
react to perceived threats from
persons outside our group. . . . . .
.