A defense lawyer is an attorney that represents an accused party in legal matters, including in a court of law. The accused party is known as the defendant, hence the name, defense lawyer.
Many defense lawyers start out as prosecutors for the state. The prosecutor is there as an agent of the state, acting in the interest of the victim, but not representing them directly. Criminal proceedings, where there is a prosecutor, don't have a plantiff, per se, as the party that brings charges against the defendant is a public agency. If a party is charged with a crime and cannot afford to hire a private defense lawyer, the state will assign an attorney to represent the defendant. Though there are many talented state-appointed defense attorneys, accused parties with means usually hire their own defense lawyer.
In a criminal proceeding, the job of the defense lawyer is to vigorously defend his or her client by using the law to cast doubt on the prosecution’s case. It is up to the prosecutor to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. The defense lawyer does not have to prove the innocence of his or her client, as the law dictates that a person is innocent by default until proven guilty. However, if evidence exists that can exonerate a client, it is up to the defense lawyer to bring this evidence out when possible.
While it is incumbent on a defense lawyer to vigorously represent the client, there are limits. A lawyer cannot knowingly place a witness on the stand to perpetrate a lie, nor can a lawyer knowingly lie to the court. For this reason, in high profile cases, it is not unusual that a defense lawyer will not want to know if the client is guilty. Without that absolute knowledge, the defense strategy can remain more flexible.
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