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The public defender might be the unsung hero of the legal system. As a government employee, he makes relatively little for a litigator. He has little say over his cases and often works with the defendants that no one else wants. He doesn't have the resources that the district attorney's office has and must often engage in his own investigations. Many of his cases seem almost hopeless and, to the victims of crime, he appears almost as bad as his defendants. So why does he do this job?

For one thing, public defenders are integral to the criminal justice system. The law affords everyone the right to an attorney including those who cannot afford one. "It's a mistake to say that we're against the system. We're part of the system," observes one public defender. Public defenders work for government agencies or are private lawyers paid an hourly rate by the state. Either way, there's not a lot of money to be made.

There are public defenders at the state, federal and appellate levels. At the state level, a public defender represents impoverished clients in state criminal court, handling everything from small violations to juvenile offenses to violent crime cases. She is responsible for acquiring all background information on the case, interviewing witnesses and filing the appropriate papers and motions in court, as well as preparing for trial and negotiating plea bargains. Although previous litigation experience is always looked upon as an asset, a lawyer can become a state public defender in his first year after law school.

The public defender at the federal level represents those who cannot afford private representation in federal court. An assistant federal public defender does both trial and appellate work in the U.S. district courts and the circuit courts of appeal. In general, a candidate for the federal public defender's office must already have a few years of serious litigation experience, preferably in criminal court.

Some states have a separate agency for public defenders working at an appellate level. These appellate defenders work with appeals either in state or federal court, preparing for appellate-level hearings or representing defendants at the post-conviction level. Their job is to make sure that the defendant has had a fair and impartial trial and that his treatment in the justice system continues to be appropriate and fair. Some appellate defenders specialize in capital cases (cases involving the death penalty).

First-year public defenders will find themselves in court very quickly, defending petty thieves and vandals and the like. They might work odd shifts and have only a few minutes to meet with each client before appearing before a judge. Often, the defense attorney's job will be to get a fair plea bargain for his client. Public defenders spend a good portion of every day either in court for hearings or in jails with their clients. Gradually, as the public defender increases in skill and knowledge of the legal system, he will start trying more complicated misdemeanors and eventually felonies. Most public defender agencies offer some kind of training, but most of a public defender's duties are learned on the job and on his feet.

Like their adversaries across the aisle, public defenders get court experience and criminal law experience very quickly. As a public defender, you will be representing clients in trials long before your friends with civil litigation jobs and, in some cases, before your classmates who became assistant district attorneys. As the defenders of the indigent and needy, public defenders can find immense satisfaction in helping someone who would otherwise be lost in the currents of the legal system. There will always be work for public defenders, and the litigation experience is unparalleled.

Being a public defender is, however, often an uphill battle. In many cases, the prosecution has a mountain of damning evidence and a defense attorney might start to feel as if his job is merely defending "guilty people." A public defender at an agency has very little say in which cases he takes and, while he may happily take on a burglary case, defending an alleged rapist can be a sobering experience. (A public defender can sometimes turn down a case, but this is rare and usually frowned upon.) The role of a criminal defense attorney is very demanding in any case, but the public defender often works with those considered "the dregs" of society and may have to face the victim or the victim's family in court every day.

Many public defenders enjoy the legal challenge. "I think my job is very creative," says one public defender. "I'm given a set of facts and the ADA's theory, and it's my job to see other perspectives. It's challenging." Others are devoted to making sure that even the most despised and vulnerable members of society are represented fairly. Some defenders see their role as ensuring that the prosecution is forced to put together the best prosecution it can, given that a person's freedom is at stake. Others have political or sociological views that clash with the established judicial or prison system. "I think you need a pretty strong belief system to do this job," says one public defender. "Not always -- I mean, there are people who do it just for the experience. But it can wear you down, and it helps to really feel that you're contributing something."

Whatever their motivation, the ranks of public defenders are full of excellent lawyers. The salary at a state agency is generally commensurate with that at the district attorney's office, although in some jurisdictions a public defender can make much less. Salaries in the $40,000 range are common in big cities, although lawyers with more litigation experience enjoy a higher starting salary. Appellate defenders at the state level will make about as much as their trial counterparts. Federal public defenders make salaries similar to those of the U.S. attorneys in their area. This can be as much as a $70,000 starting salary in New York or as low as $45,000 elsewhere. Generally, a prospective public defender at any level will pass through a series of interviews and be asked to make a commitment of a certain number of years to the agency. (Three is a common number.) Most agencies look for evidence of interest in community service and helping the needy, from a legal or other standpoint.

Public defenders who are not part of an agency are assigned their cases by a court and paid by the hour. This hourly rate varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but $25 to $40 an hour is a common range. Lawyers in every state have complained that the hourly rate set by courts chases many good would-be public defenders into different fields of law. Clearly, lawyers remain public defenders for reasons other than the money.

Public defenders can work many long hours, especially if they're on trial. However, the hours of a public defender, like those of an assistant district attorney, are not as unrelentingly demanding as those of corporate litigators. And while hiring is dependent on government budgets, the high turnover rate of public defenders means that new, eager lawyers are always wanted.