New York Medical Malpractice Law Firm Blog

Monday 5, May 2025

Being a Lawyer and the Rule of Law

Walter G. Alton, Jr.

When I was in my final year of college, I wrote an essay to accompany my law school applications stating why I wanted to be a lawyer. I said that I believed the rule of law and the legal system kept order in our society and preserved cherished American values, which meant so much to my parents, who had emigrated from Hungary, and to my sister and me, who were born here.

I opined that America would not have the greatness I perceived it had without following the democratic values written into our Constitution and following the rule of law. This meant a legal community in concert doing just that. History shows that one step autocrats use in taking complete power is the destruction of the legal and judicial system, and it is why Shakespeare wrote the sentence, so often quoted, “First, we kill all the lawyers.”

I explained that I wanted to become an integral part of our legal system as a lawyer and dedicate my talents to the just administration and ethical practice of law. I expressed my belief that without such dedication one could not be a good lawyer. I have tirelessly followed these principles in pursuing my career, which has been very rewarding in every way.

What troubles me now is the abandonment of the rule of law by some lawyers, judges, and the current Administration, which will destroy the values we hold dear and undermine the structure of our society. I am shocked that lawyers representing the Government have violated their oaths to follow, protect, and defend the Constitution and, in fact, work to undermine it, and that so-called “big law” firms have capitulated to pressure and given up their principles for financial reasons. Practicing law is not just a business; every lawyer takes an oath and pledges to uphold the U.S. Constitution, his or her State Constitution, and faithfully discharge the duties of attorney and counselor-at-law. Our legal collective must coalesce as a bastion to protect and defend the foundations of our democracy.