Defence Counsel "Maestro"

The Challenge

An analysis of the life account of the Polish defence lawyer Stanisław Hejmowski (1900-1969), who made a mark in the first national war crimes trial in 1946 and later in the Poznań June trials of 1956, reminds us of how defence lawyering strategies in high profile cases are born. Such cases are driven by attempts to seek justice for crimes of an egregious nature and are therefore themselves high profile. The tactics deployed by defence lawyers in such cases are designed to attain certain goals of political and social justice. There are lessons to be learned from cases that might not be considered high profile but are equally important for justice. Hejmowski’s success as a defence lawyer was based on education and training in a state in which five separate legal systems were in force. There also are vital lessons to be learned from cases that might not be considered high profile but are equally important for justice. The defence lawyer draws on an internal moral compass that prioritises the client and their case within a wider context of achieving justice for the sake of the rule of law.

Our Approach

My findings draw on his recently discovered private personal family archive and case notes, which have hitherto not been in the public domain. My research adopts a qualitative methodology that elicits key points that can be applied to other case studies when seeking to understand developments that are similar or otherwise. The two methodologies are used in this paper are legal historical analysis and the life biography. The first is invaluable as a means to inform about the understanding of concepts of justice and ethics during a specific period, which will involve the Cold War. The second methodology is the life biography. In scrutinising the life account of an individual held to be behind a legal principle, we are in fact engaging with a judicial or legal biography.

Our Impact

This current endeavour hopes to take a step towards a making defence lawyers a less marginalised topic. Moreover, the research extends its investigation of the cadre of lawyers, including women, who have largely been excluded from the European legal historical narrative, such as the Polish defence lawyer Aniela Steinsbergowa, who was working at the same time as Hejmowski. The work of these defence lawyers was undertaken during a dangerous time of authoritarian rule, and it was done at great risk and personal cost. Their defence lawyering strategies drew on a notion of professional ethics. Their accounts will used as a basis to draw comparisons with other defence lawyers across the world. This research is being published in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections and shared widely as conferences and workshop events. It also will examine ways to disseminate these findings via performance of key excerpts of the defence lawyers’ speeches. This will involve law students with a view to inspire innovative ways to consider professional ethics and lawyering during times of autocratic rule.