SOURCE: Dare, Tim. “Lawyers, Ethics, and To Kill a Mockingbird.” Philosophy and Literature 25, no. 1 (April 2001): 127-41.

In the following essay, Dare discusses the issue of moral responsibility in the legal profession in terms of ethical and moral philosophy, and evaluates whether or not the character of Atticus Finch serves as a positive role model for lawyers.

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Lawyers are widely thought to be callous, self-serving, devious, and indifferent to justice, truth, and the public good. The law profession could do with a hero, and some think Atticus Finch of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird fits the bill.¹ Claudia Carver, for instance, urging lawyers to adopt Atticus as a role model, writes: “I had lots of heroes when growing up. … Only one remains very much ‘alive’ for me. … Atticus made me believe in lawyer heroes.”² Not everyone endorses Atticus's nomination. Most influentially, Monroe Freedman argues that Atticus is...