Stanford Law School and professor George Fisher were both mentioned in the following article by the Irish Independent on the top 10 law schools in the world.

The top 10 universities in the world to study law according to the QS World University Rankings 2011/2012.

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5: Stanford University

At the Law School Class of 2011 graduation, George Fisher, co-director of Stanford Law School’s Criminal Prosecution Clinic told a story about a time when he lacked the courage of conscience and followed his boss’ orders to prosecute a woman driver who had been driving at normal speed on a dark night and killed a man lying in the road. The woman showed great remorse and it was clear to Fisher that it was nothing more than a tragic accident.

In his address he urged the graduates to learn from his mistakes: “I had a decision to make. I could live by my own conscience and withdraw from the case, or I could cave to his command.”

In the end he went against his conscience and followed his boss’s orders.

“To my good fortune I lost….You will face pressures like those I faced – pressure to please your boss or client, pressures to succeed or burnish your pride. Sometimes those pressures will accord with your conscience and the governing rules of ethics. When they do not, take pause. Set aside the pressures of the moment. Then walk 10 steps down the road and look back at yourselves. Don’t leave yourself wondering, as I did, why your courage went wanting.”