Mandela: A Hero for Our Times

Nelson Mandela: A man of courage, loyalty and patience Nelson Mandela spent much of his adult life in prison yet he emerged from confinement not embittered and angry, but peaceful and determined to make a new, more equitable society. He was selflessly willing to forgive his captors if this was necessary to move forward and to bridge the divides between the warring factions present in his country. In the face of incredible odds, he negotiated peace and an end to white majority rule.

Through his example of dignity and his forceful articulation of principles, even when behind bars in a society that was determined to oppress him, he was able to win the world to his side. South Africa became an international pariah thanks to Mandela's peaceful but constant advocacy, until it ended its oppressive system of apartheid. I hope to similarly know when to act as a conciliator as well as when to fight in my own future work as a lawyer.

Having a sense of justice means having a sense of balance: to know when to show mercy as well as when to be uncompromising. Mandela refused to back down because he was defending what he knew was right, even though the white minority government persecuted him and his people. But rather than calling for bloodshed and anger he used the justice and principles of his cause to win followers.

Also, he was able to reconcile the residents of his nation -- black and white -- by not demanding punishment and retribution of offenders but by finding common ground.

Although the law must sometimes punish people, reconciliation and restitution should be at its heart, not 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' I hope I will not be tested in my life as Mandela was: he faced a stark choice of either remaining silent and seeing his people live in intolerable conditions or resisting a white regime that would meet his calls for justice with violence.

However, I hope when and if I do meet the tests that will come my way -- and all of us face ethical conundrums that bother our conscience -- I hope will be able to meet them with the same level of fortitude as he did. Being a lawyer means constantly having to wrestle with ethical questions.

Perhaps the first ethical question a lawyer must take on after graduating from law school is the question of where he or she will work: is corporate law the best venue for his skills? Or government or nonprofit work? How to balance the need for financial stability, intellectual challenges, and the desire to leave a mark upon the world, to make the world better than you left it? Because despite all of the jokes about lawyers' lack of ethics, I firmly believe that the law can be a powerful instrument of change.

Nelson Mandela faced a much greater challenge than any young lawyer today. The legal system he was grappling with was stacked against him. It was designed to be unfair, rather than just. Black Africans were persecuted simply because of the color of their skin and denied basic rights such as access to free speech;.