A good lawyer and a good person.

• Author: Moliterno, James E.
• Position: Law professor John Levy, MarshallWyth School of Law

John Levy and I have been teaching and writing together for fourteen years now. For me, those years have been much richer, more rewarding, more meaningful, and happier, because of John's partnership in them.

John and I teach and write about lawyers, their ethics and practices, their culture. One of the classic questions asked by people who teach and write about lawyers is this one: "Can one be both a good lawyer and a good person?" Scholars' attempts to answer this question fill many volumes. I was not sure of my own answer to this question until I met and worked with John. Knowing John allows me to know the answer: One can be a good lawyer and a good person. John is both. I know that and so do the thousands of students he has taught. John teaches in all the usual ways, but he also teaches in a way that few can--he teaches by providing a simple, unassuming example of a good way of living life.

John is a teacher, and that, by the way, is how John describes his work. When asked what he does, John says, "I teach at the law school." He doesn't say, "I am a law professor," or "I am a professor at the law school." John teaches at the law school. He teaches every day, explicitly and implicitly. He teaches his students and he teaches his colleagues. He teaches all of us what a life of integrity, honor, simplicity, good nature, and kindness looks like. He taught me many more things, one of which was that one can indeed be a good person and a good lawyer.

The classic question is always framed "Can one be a good lawyer and a good person?" John is more than that. John is an excellent lawyer and a remarkable person. His lifetime of work in establishing and leading legal aid programs in Virginia has brought counsel and comfort and help to literally millions of people in need. His lifetime of work teaching law students at William and Mary has influenced the course of many thousands of lawyers whose work has affected many more millions. He has done this lifetime of impressive work in the most selfless manner, never drawing attention to his accomplishments, never accepting as much credit...