Reading Comprehension

PT116 · S4 · P1 · Q3 Defense Lawyers

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one
Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step
81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Is it necessary for defense lawyers to believe that the clients they defend are innocent of the charges against them?

Topic

Do defense lawyers need to believe their clients are innocent? What ethical limits or responsibilities should guide their defense?

Framework

Challenge Position

Main Point

The passage challenges the view that defense lawyers should provide the best possible defense regardless of their client’s guilt, arguing instead that lawyers have a dual obligation: they should not present falsehoods to the court or defend clients they know to be guilty as if they were innocent. Instead, lawyers should strive for honest advocacy based on the facts and present extenuating circumstances where appropriate. (The key pivot and main point appears at the start of P2: )

P1: Standard View – Lawyers as Pure Advocates

Some legal scholars argue that a lawyer's only job is to offer the best possible defense, regardless of their personal belief about the client's guilt. According to this view, it's the court's job to determine guilt or innocence, and the lawyer’s role is to advocate for their client using any available facts and legal arguments, not to act on their own opinions.

P2: Author’s Critique – Lawyers Owe Courts (and Society) Honesty

The author pushes back, saying that this approach ignores another big responsibility lawyers have: serving the court and society, not just their clients. Lawyers shouldn’t make arguments they know are false, nor should they work to prove a known-guilty client is innocent. Instead, if a lawyer knows their client is guilty, they should focus on presenting extenuating circumstances and arguing for fair sentencing, not false acquittal. If the lawyer isn’t sure about guilt, but sincerely believes in the client’s innocence, they can argue innocence.

P3: How Honest Advocacy Ultimately Benefits All

Lawyers who fulfill their duties to court and society—by taking cases they truly believe in and advocating honestly—end up serving their clients best. The passage emphasizes that lawyers aren't supposed to accept every single case and simply parrot what a client wants, but should provide real advocacy based on the actual merits of the case.

Which one of the following sentences would most logically begin a paragraph immediately following the end of the passage?

Correct
In keeping with this role,
Why this is right
Nothing here goes astray, and it seems to reinforce the big point. The foundations of "honesty and substantive accuracy" underscore the main point about "don't lie to the court; if you know your client is guilty, don't try to argue that they're not guilty. Just do the best job you can to advocate for their rights, given the facts of the case." The part about "selectivity" is a reference to the 2nd to last sentence about selecting clients you feel good about representing: "the fact that every client is entitled to a defense lawyer doesn't mean that defense lawyers should take every case they're offered (i.e. they should be selective about which cases they take)."
Skill tested: Add to the Passage · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
81% picked this
Therefore, the practice of law
Too Strong / New Topic: morally dubious
It's a very large, sweeping indictment to say "the practice of law remains morally dubious". Whoa! You think that the practice of law, overall, is morally sketchy? That seems like a really bold claim, since most people associate the practice of law with justice / principles / ethics. This passage was narrowly about whether defense lawyers should believe their clients, not about whether the whole field of law was morally problematic.
1% picked this
Consequently, the defendant’s right to
Contradicts Earlier
The passage says, "the fact that every client is entitled to a defense", so the author does not believe that the defendant's right to legal representation varies from case to case. There is an earlier sentence that says, "guilty defendants should not be entitled to false or insincere representation" that might confuse some. The author there isn't saying that a guilty defendant might not be entitled to legal representation. She's saying that they're not entitled to "legal representation that is willing to lie on their behalf".
7% picked this
Thus, the lawyers’ obligations are
New Topic
New Topic: proving professional worth Goes Against Main Point The passage is never suggesting that defense lawyers are obliged to prove their professional worth by securing acquittals. This principle would mean that even if you think your client is guilty, you have to prove your professional worth by trying to get them a "not guilty" acquittal. The author thinks that a good, professionally worthwhile defense lawyer will sometimes assess that their client is guilty and not seek an acquittal at all. Rather, they will argue for "whatever degree of leniency in sentencing they feel is warranted".
10% picked this
Therefore, judges or other officials
New Topic: judges interrogating lawyers
This is a good example of ending the passage with a brand new idea. We never talked about this concept of a judge asking the defense attorney, "So ... is your client guilty? What do you know about whether they're guilty or not?" That should offend our common sense of how trials are conducted. Judges don't usually "cut to the chase" and skip the trial by just asking the defense attorney whether the defendant is guilty.
1% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill

LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free