I would never take a case that had to do with abusing children. They're the true innocents.

There are lawyers who believe in client-centered representation and who are dedicated on the same level I feel I was dedicated.

You know that question: What do you do when you think the client's guilty? The real question is: What you do when you think a client's innocent?

I spoke in front of a huge gathering in Seattle, and someone got up and said, "I'm just so afraid." I said, "The only way not to be afraid is to join with other people who are also afraid."

I would never defend a cop - though I did on a few private cases, when cops were acting not as cops but as private citizens.

You're working not for the corporate interest, not for the government interest, not for your own self-interest. You have a higher calling.

I didn't know Harlem existed. I didn't know there was such a place, because I grew up in white Queens, where five miles is 100 miles. So I went to the school and, being a smart cookie - as they called us in those days - I had a million questions. How did this place exist? How come I didn't know about it? Why are people living like this? Do they want to live like this?