Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was born in Florence in 1469 and became a figure of the Italian Renaissance. His writings included political theory. He wrote a pamphlet The Prince, which he hoped would help him gain influence with the ruling Medici family of Florence. The well known writing has a chapter he entitles: "Cruelty and Compassion: And Whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse." Here is a sampling of his answer. He advises that it is better for a prince to have a reputation for compassion rather then cruelty. As to whether it is better to be loved then feared, , he says, it is difficult to combine them so it is better to be feared than loved if you cannot have both. He writes, "Men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who makes himself feared. The bond of love is one which men, wretched creatures that they are, break when it is to their advantage to do so; but fear is strengthened by a dread of punishment which is always effective. The prince should nonetheless make himself feared in such a way that, if he is not loved, at least he escapes being hated." This advice, of more then five hundred years ago, seems to me to apply to trial lawyers today. We have to make the same choice in the representation of our clients. Are we concerned primarily about being "loved" by judges and opponents? Are we worried about making friends with them in representing our own clients? If so, we are in the wrong profession. The trial lawyer’s primary obligation is to represent his or her client to the best of their professional ability in an honest and ethical manner, irrespective of whether they will be "loved" in the process. If required, great trial lawyers chose fear and respect over a desire to be loved, where both are not possible in performing their professional duties. As a plaintiff’s trial lawyer it seems clear to me that if I put my client’s ethical interests first, in every decision or action I take, irrespective of whether it will please someone else, I’ve fulfilled my oath as a lawyer. If we, as trial lawyers, first ask ourselves whether a decision or action is in our client’s best interest rather then how it will impact us, we are doing the right thing, in my view. I’d rather be respected or feared than loved as a plaintiff’s trial lawyer since it is obvious to me that in my practice both are not possible. That choice represents to me choosing the client’s interests over my personal interests.