Spiritual Thought: Learning Empathy and Compassion in the Legal Profession

By Peter Robison, President, Vanderbilt University Law School Student Chapter

I've often heard that our church experiences can help us be better lawyers and advocates, but I don't often hear people say that being an attorney can help you be a good member of your church. In fact, I've heard my fair share of lawyer jokes, most of which aren't terribly complimentary. My own grandmother is afraid for my immortal soul because I'm going to be an attorney, and makes me promise every time I see her that I won't be a sleazy defense attorney. However, despite conventional wisdom, I think that by being good legal advocates, we can develop skills and habits that can help us be better stewards and perform our church callings.

For the past three months I've been working in our legal clinic, representing low-income clients in domestic violence disputes. Some of the clients come to us because they have made some very poor life choices. Others are innocent victims that have no one else to turn to. In each case I have learned to set aside all judgment or presumptions and listen to their stories.

I feel like I've learned a lot about empathy, compassion, and responsibility in my limited experience representing my first clients. Half of what I do is just stand by my client and give them some silent support when they really need it. I've also had sit back and watch clients make decisions that I know will ultimately hurt them, but the choice is their's to make.

As I try to become a good legal advocate, I have realized that many of the traits of a good lawyer also make a good citizen, parent, spouse, steward, and church leader. The empathy and compassion I have learned from my professional life can help me in my callings or assignments at church. And if I knew my home teaching families as well as I know some of my clients, I would truly be meeting their needs. Even some of the more mundane legal tasks, such as scheduling and organizing, can come in handy when planning meetings, organizing home teaching, or preparing lessons.

As we have all been told before, the legal profession can be a stressful one, but if we put some of our legal skills to work, it can also help prepare us to serve others.