Annotated Bibliography Summary

Rhea Sharma

Laufenberg, Scott D., and Elizabeth A. Wolford. "Representing Repugnant ClientsEvery

Lawyer's Choice?" Representing Repugnant Clients Every Lawyers Choice? American

Bar, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017..

The article featured on the American Bar website tackles the intricate topic of

lawyers having to defend people who have committed horrendous crimes. The article

goes through the different struggles that might accompany a client that is facing

criminal charges that arent simple. One of the core problems with compulsory

representation is the effect that the lawyers association with an unpopular client or a

scandalous issue might have on an attorneys existing clients said the author when

listing the ramifications of taking a scandalous case. Previous lawyers who have

attempted to run for public office have been attacked because of previous clients and

the fact that they fought for rapists and serial killers. The article brings up a good point

about how lawyers are supposed to act as counsel to the accused and helping a person

doesnt mean that you necessarily condone their actions. The author also discusses how

lawyers who take scandalous cases and then dont perform well could face malpractice

suits for neglect. People may accuse the lawyer of purposely botching the case because

of their personal feelings towards the client.

There werent many good quotes that I could take from the article, but one that

I did like was as attorneys, we do not give up our personal moral standards when we

become members of the bar. Lawyers still have personal opinions that they have to
deal with when representing clients who have committed crimes that they are offended

by. The article also gave me the idea that somewhere in my presentation I could quote

the constitution in order to stress the right that everyone has to counsel and that it is a

lawyers job to fulfill this constitutional right.

The article came from a reliable source: American Bar. The American Bar

Association is a trusted association when it comes to information regarding the field of

law. This URL, which is an .org, supports the validity of the source . The author is also a

trusted expert and he is an associate with a prominent law firm in Kentucky. The author

has also been practicing for a while and has plenty of experience in the area of law. He

also cited several other lawyers who he has heard at conferences and courses that are

also experts in their field, which further validates his opinion on the situation and his

stance.

This article is helpful for my Essential Question because it discuses the

decision that lawyers face when deciding whether or not to represent a client . The

source was definitely helpful because it further proved that this is a serious question

that lawyers face and that the answer is not always black and white . The article will

fit into the research section of my project and I will also look back on it when I

compile a list of all the factors that lawyers look at when deciding whether or not to

represent a client.