We educated, privileged lawyers have a professional and moral

Hear the solemn voice of Sonia Sotomayor, daughter of humble beginnings, who rose to sit among the highest judges of her land, and who declared: “We educated, privileged lawyers have a professional and moral duty to represent the underrepresented in our society, to ensure that justice exists for all, both legal and economic justice.” In these words burns a fire of responsibility, a reminder that knowledge and privilege are not gifts for personal triumph alone, but burdens to be carried for the sake of others.

For what is it to be educated and privileged, if not to stand upon a hill that many cannot climb? The lawyer, schooled in the mysteries of statutes and armed with the sword of argument, has power denied to the common person. Most who are poor, oppressed, or voiceless cannot navigate the labyrinth of courts or wield the tools of law. Thus, as Sotomayor declares, it is the moral duty of those who hold this power to bend it toward the defense of the weak. Without such guardians, justice becomes not a shield for all, but a fortress for the few.

Consider the tale of Thurgood Marshall, who before becoming a Supreme Court justice, walked into southern courtrooms where the law itself seemed chained to segregation. Against overwhelming odds, he represented those who could not defend themselves, culminating in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, which tore down the legal walls of “separate but equal.” Had Marshall sought only profit, had he chosen only the wealthy for his clients, the movement for equality might have stumbled. His legacy is proof that when privileged lawyers devote themselves to the underrepresented, they change the destiny of nations.

Sotomayor’s words also speak of economic justice, a realm often forgotten. For the law is not only about crimes and punishments, but also about wages, contracts, debts, and property. A family evicted without counsel, a worker cheated of pay, a debtor crushed by unfair terms—all are victims not only of economic struggle but of legal neglect. When lawyers rise to defend them, they restore balance, reminding society that justice is not whole unless it touches both the courtroom and the marketplace.

History shows us also the peril of neglect. In Rome’s later days, when lawyers became servants only of the powerful, the common people lost faith in the law. They no longer saw courts as places of fairness but as instruments of oppression. The empire decayed, for justice itself had rotted. Sotomayor warns us against this very danger: when lawyers forget the moral duty of their profession, the very fabric of society begins to fray.

What, then, must we learn? That privilege is not license but stewardship. To be educated is not merely to rise above others, but to stoop and lift them with the strength you have gained. To know the law is to hold a torch in the darkness; if you hoard the flame, others stumble. If you share it, the path is illuminated for all. This is not mere idealism, but survival: for a society that abandons its underrepresented abandons its own soul.

Therefore, let each who is privileged—whether lawyer, teacher, leader, or artisan—hear this charge. Seek out those who cannot speak and lend them your voice. Offer your skills where they are most needed, not only where they are most profitable. Defend the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, the worker, for in doing so you defend the dignity of humanity itself.

So let the words of Sonia Sotomayor echo through the generations: justice is not justice unless it is for all. The educated must serve the uneducated, the strong must guard the weak, and those with privilege must carry it as a duty, not a prize. For only then will the law be more than parchment and ink; it will become the living covenant of a people who dare to call themselves just.