UC Law SF Lecturer Richard Zitrin Shares Trial Lawyering Experiences in New Book
UC Law SF lecturer emeritus Richard Zitrin has written a new book on听 his decades of experience as a trial lawyer and inherent biases in the legal system.
Lecturer Emeritus Richard Zitrin has taught Legal Ethics since 1994 at UC Law SF, and founded USF鈥檚 Center for Applied Legal Ethics. For many years the author of a bimonthly column, 鈥淭he Moral Compass,鈥 for American Law Media, Professor Zitrin鈥檚 previous books include (Fifth edition, 2019); and (2000.) In June 2022, his most recent book, , was released.
Throughout your career, you have been an advocate for the poor and disadvantaged, and have actively promoted ethical treatment for all under the law. How does your new book reflect this personal philosophy?
My book is less a pure memoir than a book about the inherent biases of the legal system. Specifically, biases towards people of color, the poor, the less educated, and those who just don鈥檛 fit the mold of whatever society considers 鈥渘ormal.鈥 The George Floyd incident was especially illuminating for me. It had the effect of making me take a deep dive into my own white privileged background. I gained a more thoughtful appreciation of the disparity between my clients and the legal system 鈥 including lawyers, judges and myself.
, the Chair of the African American Studies at Brandeis University, very kindly wrote about my book that my narrative focuses on 鈥渢he institutionalized inequities of the legal system, especially as they relate to race and the treatment of Black people, vividly laid bare,鈥 and examines 鈥渨hat it truly means to be an antiracist,鈥 which 鈥渂y necessity entails personal risk, ethical grounding, and an unswerving commitment to justice.鈥听
How would you say your experiences at Hastings affected the writing of this book?
In my ethics classes at UC Law SF, I have always addressed morality as well as ethics. This includes respect for clients and their autonomy, and the paramount importance of building a client鈥檚 trust. In these discussions, it’s impossible not to mention the inherent biases of the legal system, as well as the dangers of Big Law.
As an aside, I鈥檇 like to thank my good friend, UC Law SF Professor Richard Boswell, for his kindness and generosity in helping me present my book to others.听
Do you have any advice for law students?
In my last few years of teaching, the first thing I told my classes was to be happy in your professional life. Be content. Do what you want, not what your family, friends, and especially your bosses, want. Find your passion. Also, never lose sight of doing what you know is right. We don鈥檛 always know what the truth is, but we know a lie when we hear one. We don鈥檛 always know what鈥檚 fair, but we know what鈥檚 unfair. This is a lesson I hope is in the book.
What makes this book different from other law books?
This is a trade book, not an academic work. So, my intended audience is anyone who鈥檚 interested in how the law is practiced in real life. While I didn鈥檛 write this book for use in law school, it actually may be a pretty good fit. Already, law school classes are using the book for criminal law seminars and trial advocacy classes, because it combines legal ethics and trial advocacy in one volume. These dual interests have been my two careers, so perhaps that makes sense.听听
Please discuss your bill,
The idea is, it鈥檚 fundamentally unethical for lawyers to keep information secret that could provide information about direct threats to public health and safety. For the past twenty-five years, my passion has been to advocate for what I call 鈥渟unshine in litigation.鈥 I believe all information should be revealed in the discovery process, under the public鈥檚 right to know. Despite our superb team 鈥 and easily passing in the state Senate 鈥 the bill failed in the California Assembly in late August. But the driving idea behind it still needs to be addressed. SB 1149 isn鈥檛 the first bill I鈥檝e written, and it won鈥檛 be the last.
The last chapter of my book focuses on how I became interested in transparency 鈥揳 case I tried on behalf of a poor Latina against Chrysler Corporation. Because we went to trial, we got the defect information to be public. But the forces aligned against disclosure of information are powerful players in the law: big corporations, chambers of commerce, and other monied interests.