Following the Rules

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."- William Shakespeare's Henry VI, Act IV, Scene II 

When I became a paralegal last year, I swore an oath agreeing to abide by the rules imposed on paralegals and lawyers by the Law Society of Upper Canada.  One of those rules is that I am not allowed to make disparaging remarks about my colleagues in the profession.  I take my oath seriously and I work hard to abide by the rules.  Sometimes it's harder than at other times.  This week put me to the test.

I spent the whole day on Tuesday at a Labour Board hearing.  It's a complicated case involving three parties.  One of the parties is comprised of a rather unsophisticated group of men from northern Ontario.  They are solid, hard working people who have found themselves in an unenviable position caught between business and a big union.  I won't go into details but suffice it to say that much of this case reinforces the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished.

So far there have been fourteen days of hearings in the case.  On Tuesday, we had one witness, a 67-year-old man who was out of his depth and scared half-to-death. He started his testimony at 9:30 A.M. and finished at 5:00 P.M.  In the morning he gave his evidence.  In the afternoon he was cross-examined by the Union's lawyer.  With the first question, it was evident the lawyer was going for the jugular.  It was a tough afternoon.

When I left the hearing around 5:30 P.M. I felt a bit depressed.  I realize it may be a naive notion to think that lawyers are in the business of helping people.  The other lawyers present sure didn't have a problem with the actions of the Union lawyer.  They thought he had done a good job.  They say he is a good lawyer and they're probably right.  But I didn't see justice served in the badgering of a 67-year-old labourer who left drained and shaking for his long drive home.  Doing it might make him a good lawyer but it doesn't seem to me that it makes him a very good man.