Shakespeare wrote, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Contrary to what many may think, this line was actually intended to praise the lawyer's role.

One of his characters in ''Henry VI,'' Dick the Butcher was a rebel who thought that by disrupting law and order, and sowing chaos in this case, by killing all the lawyers he could become king. Shakespeare clearly then meant his statement as a compliment to attorneys and judges recognizing their important role in justice and in society.

We're not sure if Shakespeare was a lawyer. But Marvic Leonen is most likely better versed on the question of why lawyers matter. He has molded and helped to create lawyers for all of his professional life, as a practitioner and advocate, as a teacher and dean of the UP College of Law, and now as the youngest justice of the Philippine Supreme Court.

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