Mace Abdullah

"I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." Abraham Lincoln

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When I sat in orientation for my first year in law school, two points resonated with me then as they do today.  The first point the professor alerted us to was that the law is a "jealous mistress."  What he was saying in an offbeat way is that a true lawyer is so dedicated to what he or she does that the law becomes consuming; sometimes to the point where the line between one's personal and professional lives becomes blurred.  This happens because a true lawyer loves the law; much as a man loves a woman...passionately.  The second point that the professor made is that there are in fact other legal systems in the world today.  Ours, the American legal system, is but one of the many that exist throughout the world.  That statement by the professor, who died a few years after my orientation, has proved prophetic during the nearly 20 years I have enjoyed the privilege of practicing law.  We have seen the world become an increasingly smaller place.  We speak of the global marketplace in business.  And in law, as in many other areas of our lives, what is law in one part of the world, affects what we perceive as law in ours.  That is why this quote by Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President of these United States, is so profound:

 "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong."

I too stand by the light I have and she is indeed a "jealous mistress."