--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tell my students, if you ever become…" description: "\"I tell my students, if you ever become comfortable with your role as criminal defense lawyer, it's time to quit. It should be a constant source of disc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/alan-dershowitz-2194_ambiguity_i-tell-my-students-if-you-ever-become-co_3177943.png" --- # I tell my students, if you ever become comfortable with… ![“I tell my students, if you ever become comfortable with your role as criminal defense lawyer, it's time to quit. It should be a constant source of discomfort, because you're dealing with incredible moral ambiguity, and you've been cast into a role which is not enviable.” quote by Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/alan-dershowitz-2194_ambiguity_i-tell-my-students-if-you-ever-become-co_3177943.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/alan-dershowitz-2194_ambiguity_i-tell-my-students-if-you-ever-become-co_3177943.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/alan-dershowitz-2194_ambiguity_i-tell-my-students-if-you-ever-become-co_3177943.png) > “I tell my students, if you ever become comfortable with your role as criminal defense lawyer, it's time to quit. It should be a constant source of discomfort, because you're dealing with incredible moral ambiguity, and you've been cast into a role which is not enviable.” [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lawyer must stay uneasy about defending the guilty, as the role is morally complex and never fully respectable. **In simple terms:** Defending criminals should always feel uncomfortable. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort to stay ethically vigilant. Themes ethics law morality professionalism Mood reflective serious Type advice ethical When to use this quote - courtroom defense - law school teaching - personal reflection - career decisions Key Concepts moral ambiguity role conflict ethical vigilance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal ethics with professional duty? - What signs indicate a role has become too comfortable? A Different Perspective Discomfort alone may not guarantee moral integrity; systemic issues also matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) [Criminal defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-defense/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Discomfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomfort/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-ambiguity/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I have to say that every white-collar criminal defense lawyer knows when the chief financial officer turns state's evidence, everyone in the executive suite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-painter/i-have-to-say-that-every-white-collar-criminal-defense-lawyer-knows/) [Richard Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-painter/) > [Now I am practicing as well as a criminal defense lawyer in handling appeals. The court of appeals appointed me to handle cases and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-clark/now-i-am-practicing-as-well-as-a-criminal-defense-lawyer-in-handling/) [Marcia Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-clark/) > [Lawyers claim that their clients have been grossly mistreated, which is what criminal defense lawyers are paid to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lawyers-claim-that-their-clients-have-been-grossly-mistreated-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-lawyer-s-time-and-advice-are-his-stock-in-trade/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [A lawyer's time and advice are his(her) stock in trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-lawyer-s-time-and-advice-are-his-her-stock-in-trade/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Dean had just come from seeing his lawyer. 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It doesn't matter if we believe in our adversarial system and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/the-criminal-defense-attorney-is-misunderstood-if-not-despised-by/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [My anti-authoritarian instincts let me directly to criminal defense work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-stewart/my-anti-authoritarian-instincts-let-me-directly-to-criminal-defense/) [Lynne Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-stewart/) > [ \[I have \] two boys. 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If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/a-criminal-trial-is-never-about-seeking-justice-for-the-victim-if-it/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If torture is going to be administered as a last resort in the ticking-bomb case, to save enormous numbers of lives, it ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/if-torture-is-going-to-be-administered-as-a-last-resort-in-the/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [The Second Amendment has no place in modern society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/the-second-amendment-has-no-place-in-modern-society/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Our First Amendment expresses a far different calculus for regulating speech than for regulating nonexpressive conduct and that is as it should be. 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I always wanted to be a lawyer, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-never-had-an-existential-moment-when-i-asked-myself-what-i-was/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [The Internet knows no national borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/the-internet-knows-no-national-borders/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [It's a new phenomenon in America that states can now sue the national government and become a kind of check and balance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/it-s-a-new-phenomenon-in-america-that-states-can-now-sue-the-national/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [When it comes to partisan politics, everyone is a hypocrite. And all they care about is whether it hurts or helps them ... Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/when-it-comes-to-partisan-politics-everyone-is-a-hypocrite-and-all/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Everybody says they're opposed to torture. But everyone would do it personally if they knew it could save the life of a kidnapped child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/everybody-says-they-re-opposed-to-torture-but-everyone-would-do-it/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [I think mistakes are the essence of science and law. It's impossible to conceive of either scientific progress or legal progress without understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-think-mistakes-are-the-essence-of-science-and-law-it-s-impossible/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [I never place limits on the potential success of my students. If they're going into acting, they're going to win the Oscar... If they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-never-place-limits-on-the-potential-success-of-my-students-if-they/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) [Explore all 177 Alan Dershowitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) ## More Ambiguity quotes > [The position is clear - there is no ambiguity in Sinn Fein's position. We, along with all the other parties, have signed up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/the-position-is-clear-there-is-no-ambiguity-in-sinn-fein-s-position/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I blame my grandfather 100 percent for his oldest son's death. I don't think there's any ambiguity there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/i-blame-my-grandfather-100-percent-for-his-oldest-son-s-death-i-don-t/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [I think the relationship between social-dominance orientation in people and the extent to which they're made uncomfortable by ambiguity and novelty is really important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/i-think-the-relationship-between-social-dominance-orientation-in/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Yet again, an ancient answer echoes across the centuries: Listen! Listen to stories! For what stories do, above all else, is hold up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-kurtz/yet-again-an-ancient-answer-echoes-across-the-centuries-listen-listen/) [Ernest Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-kurtz/) > [My path to wisdom began when I stopped pretending to know things I didn't know. When I explicitly admitted to the limits of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/my-path-to-wisdom-began-when-i-stopped-pretending-to-know-things-i/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism - the failure to fail, and fail big, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-there-is-a-single-tragic-flaw-that-mars-our-biggest-enterprises-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-order-to-be-as-free-as-i-possibly-can-in-my-own-imagination-i-can/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I've always been drawn to ambiguity in pop music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-ambiguity-in-pop-music/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. 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