There is a recurring (and dangerous) temptation to reduce the lawyer to the figure of the person he represents. As if, by taking on a case, the professional automatically adheres to the conduct, ideas, or values of his client.
The lawyer should not be confused with his client
Thalles Vinícius de Souza Sales
Source : Migalhas
There is a recurring (and dangerous) temptation to reduce the lawyer to the figure of the person he represents. As if, by taking on a case, the professional automatically adheres to the conduct, ideas, or values of his client.
This confusion, although simplistic, reveals a profound lack of understanding about the role of lawyers in a democratic state governed by the rule of law.
The lawyer is not the client. Never has been. And cannot be treated as if they were.
When a lawyer acts in the defense of someone accused of committing a crime, they are in no way endorsing the illegal act. Rather, they are fulfilling an essential function of justice: ensuring that the individual is subjected to a fair trial, with respect for due process and the right to a full defense.
Without legal representation, there is no legitimate process. There is only arbitrariness disguised as a judgment.
Criminal defense law, perhaps more than any other field, exemplifies this misunderstanding. Defense attorneys are frequently the target of unfair criticism, as if they were complicit in the events described in the indictment.
But the lawyer doesn't judge; he ensures that the trial takes place within the rules of the game. And that's not a favor to the defendant! It's a requirement of the Constitution.
The same reasoning applies to acting in the political field. Advocating for a party, a candidate, or a particular ideological current does not imply personal adherence to those ideas.
A lawyer provides a technical, legal, and professional service. Political parties are legal entities, holders of rights and duties, and their candidacies must comply with rules that, naturally, need to be interpreted and defended by qualified professionals.
To confuse the lawyer with the client, in this context, is to ignore that the practice of law is not ideological activism: It is an institutional function.
This confusion, besides being misguided, is dangerous. It fuels one of the most subtle forms of weakening the legal profession: its undue criminalization.
When lawyers are seen as a moral or ideological extension of their clients, it opens the door to harassment, personal attacks, and even attempts at professional intimidation.
And here lies the central point: The legal profession cannot be practiced under fear.
Lawyers need the freedom to act, regardless of the unpopularity of the case, the antipathy the client may arouse, or the narratives that form in the social environment.
And this is not a privilege of the class, it is a guarantee of society itself. Because today it is the right to self-defense of "another"; tomorrow, it could be anyone's.
The Constitution doesn't just protect the innocent and likeable. It protects everyone, including those who err, those who disagree, those who cause trouble. And the lawyer is the instrument through which this protection is realized.
To reduce the lawyer to the client is, therefore, to reduce the very right to defense. It is to forget that, without free legal representation, there is no justice.
Perhaps it's time to revisit a basic, yet essential premise: The lawyer is not the cause he defends. He is the guarantee that, regardless of the cause, the law will prevail over arbitrariness.
Thalles Vinícius de Souza Sales
Judge of the Regional Electoral Court of Acre (jurist). Member of the National Commission for the Defense of Prerogatives and Enhancement of the Legal Profession, of the CFOAB (Brazilian Federal Council of the Order of Attorneys).
https://www.migalhas.com.br/depeso/453115/nao-se-deve-confundir-o-advogado-com-o-seu-cliente
Read also :
The crusade against the prerogatives of the legal profession.
Thalles Vinícius de Souza Sales
In recent times, a series of situations, in different regions and instances, exposes a worrying convergence.
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Updated at 09:22
Source : Migalhas
https://www.migalhas.com.br/depeso/454603/a-cruzada-contra-as-prerrogativas-da-advocacia
The Electoral Court of Acre gains new members from the legal profession.
Communications Office
By Press OfficeMarch 5, 2026
Updated:March 5, 2026
The Regional Electoral Court of Acre (TRE-AC) now has new members from the legal profession. Lawyers Thalles Vinicius de Souza Sales and Luciano Oliveira de Melo were appointed this Tuesday, March 4th, to the Acre Electoral Court.
Thalles Vinicius de Souza Sales was appointed as a full judge of the Acre Regional Electoral Court, filling a vacancy resulting from the end of Felipe Henrique de Souza's first term.
Meanwhile, lawyer Luciano Oliveira de Melo was appointed as a substitute judge, filling the vacancy left by the end of Roberto Barreto de Almeida's first term.
https://oabac.org.br/justica-eleitoral-do-acre-ganha-novos-integrantes-da-classe-da-advocacia/
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário