I’m not asking about the ethics of lying, or whether lawyers may be justified in lying. That is beside the point. I am just asking: hypothetically, would it be possible for a lawyer to have a successful career while never uttering so much as a white lie?
Like, let’s say the lawyer had some sort of spell cast on them, so they could never lie. If someone were to ask them a question, they’d either need to find a way to avoid answering or answer honestly. Would it be possible for a lawyer in such circumstances to still go on and have a successful career?
“Due to my ethical obligations to my client, I am unable to answer that question. If your honor insists on an answer, I will need to withdraw.”
You will lose out on a lot of money though. Remember that there are two sides to every story, and it’s not the lawyer’s job to judge what the truth is. The lawyer advocates. The judge and jury decide.
I work with lawyers and I have to say lawyers are by and far either the most or least ethical people you have ever met.
And success is not determined by your ethics as a lawyer.
The best lawyers find the points of the truth that are the most salient to their case and push those.
Anedcote: I once had a lead developer who was a successful lawyer earlier in his career. He quit his law office because he could not stomach defending people who were not only obviously guilty, bet were scumbags as well.