[Jeff Higgins]

I've been very close to three lawyers in my time; One of the three remains a very good friend to this day and one remains, well, my sister. Both are wonderful, upstanding people.

The third, however, is no longer a friend (and in retrospect, I wonder if he ever really was - maybe just a sociopath looking for every advantage)...). He turned out to be a man of exceedingly low character, who was not above lying to, and cheating, his "friends". Much of what he said did not mean what he said, was deniable (or would be denied at a later date)... The poster boy for "it depends on what 'is' is..." or "that's not technically what I said"...

He's the kind of guy who, when (for instance) caught driving with a dog in his lap, defended his actions by saying there was no specific law saying he could not. I pointed out that there is no specific law against dribbling a basketball on the passenger floorboard while driving either, but our "distracted driving" laws were meant to cover these things.

Anyway, I could relate story after story of this man's lack of character. I would never attribute that to his chosen profession, however. I'm convinced he's just that way, and maybe being a lawyer just gave him the means to really refine his "skills". I know more folks who are like that who are not lawyers than I know who are.