NurRauch comments on I've just been hired as a public defender. Any advice for this job?: "Prepare yourself for failure. A LOT of failure. You will have never failed at anything as much as you're going to fail at this job. Again, we're trauma surgeons. We break bones to save the heart or the brain. A lot of the times our patients are gonna die on us mid-operation. You're going to be doing very dangerous surgeries that have less than a 10% success rating. Feel absolutely free to cry and bitch and moan about all the losing you're about to do, but remember that it's not your fault. It's just the way the system is for so many of our clients. Many of the clients will personally hold you accountable -- just let them. It's not your job to convince them you're a good lawyer or a caring lawyer. It's just your job to try to help them. And often you'll find that trying and failing is actually seen in their eyes as winning their case. Hopefully you too will also come to understand what "winning" really means in this job. If you've given it a few years and nothing feels like winning unless you get a full acquittal on all charges, then you might need to re-evaluate how worthwhile you're finding the job. My inclination, though, is that you find you love it.
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