My frantic search for a ‘post-graduation plan’ led me to law school mostly because other graduate programs required you to know something about your field of study to enroll; law schools, it seemed, didn’t require you to know anything.
-- Narration (The Author) (Introduction)

Importance: The quote is a darkly humorous comment on what might be perceived as a commonly held perception about lawyers: that the job doesn't require a great deal of knowledge.

I have discovered, deep in the hearts of many condemned and incarcerated people, the scattered traces of hope and humanity – seeds of restoration that come to astonishing life when nurtured by very simple interventions.
-- Narration (The Author) (Introduction)

Importance: This quote can be seen as an early manifestation of one of the book's central themes, and a key component of the author's own personal and professional philosophy: that everyone, no matter what s/he has done, has the right to be treated, and seen, as a...