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That recently deceased Cuban leader Fidel Castro had gotten
a law degree before leading a revolution in his own country triggers all sorts
of questions about the role of law and of lawyers, of bar associations and
legal education. Think what you like of the accomplishments of Castro, but note
that he took an exceedingly nontraditional path for a trained lawyer. One can
safely assume that Uncle Fidel set out to change his world. As a law student,
did you think that you would change yours? Have you? If you have managed to
impact the world and to make it better—at least within your own world view—did
you do so by practicing law, or did you venture along an alternative career
path?
Castro himself pursued something of a traditional career, at
least initially. He practiced law after graduating from the School of Law at
the University of Havana and ran for a seat in the Cuban House of
Representatives, but the election was canceled after former president Fulgencio
Batista—apparently unwilling to abide by the election’s results—overthrew the
government. The Castro and his allies rebelled and Batista fled on Jan. 1,
1959.
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There is probably a book to be written about what it was
like having Fidel as a member of a study group, how he was allowed to practice law
despite trying to overthrow the government of the nearby Dominican Republic,
and what the role of law—and ethical requirements applicable to lawyers—was following
the Castro-led revolution in Cuba. One might also wonder about legal education
itself, not just the versatility of a law degree but its usefulness in
fomenting real and better societal change.
Should earning a law degree be all about
scoring a big paycheck and acquiring the sometimes unidentified skills of a
lawyer, or should legal education serve a broader purpose in perfecting governments
and society? And what were all the other lawyers in Cuba doing about legal
education and the legal profession both during and after the revolution? What
did Castro think about lawyers? What do you?
—Lori Tripoli
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