Criminal Law Is a Noble Calling
Most people get into the legal field to help people. They want to work to help families with the difficult tasks involved in managing an estate. Other times they are looking to work to ensure companies comply with federal environmental regulations. Not many people think of going into criminal laws as a huge service to humanity especially when they opt to work for the defense. That does not need to be the case. Yes there are serious scumbags that are out there and committing crimes. Yes there are even very well footed scumbags who will be willing to pay out the ear to get off scot-free. On the other hand there are far more people facing unjust charges and a circuitous, confusing and expensive legal system alone. They could use someone who understands criminal law and can navigate them through the process. Litigation can take months and is highly dependent on proper procedure. It is far more than one person should have to bear.
There are many iniquities in the system of criminal law we have. It is by its nature adversarial. That is why people want to have someone in their corner with the experience and expertise to fight back. The system is set up in a way that if someone's rights are being infringed they may not know. It could be your responsibility to help them if you chose to practice criminal law.
It is easy to become jaded by the legal climate in this country. We have become so litigious that people are suing each other over the smallest things. Corporations hire kids fresh out of school and use them to finagle their way around statutes. These are not the sorts of ways you envisioned doing your friends and neighbors a service when you decided to get your legal degree. Consider what a big impact you could make on people's lives by shielding them from going to jail for crimes they did not commit. Even if you think about representing people who admit they are guilty there is so much you can do to help lessen their sentence. Consider a young guy gets arrested one night after he made a poor decision.
He is facing jail time and a hefty fine that he expects. Unfortunately he also has a scholarship to go to college and will lose it if he is convicted of a felony. He has never done anything seriously wrong and this scholarship was his one chance to get out of the cycle of poverty he and his family live in. Now imagine that by representing him you could help him plead out to a less significant charge, a crime. He still pays a fine and does hours of community service but now he does not have to miss out on his future and he still learned his lesson and faced consequences. That is the real benefit and real value in practicing criminal law.