I’m not asking about the ethics of lying, or whether lawyers may be justified in lying. That is beside the point. I am just asking: hypothetically, would it be possible for a lawyer to have a successful career while never uttering so much as a white lie?
Like, let’s say the lawyer had some sort of spell cast on them, so they could never lie. If someone were to ask them a question, they’d either need to find a way to avoid answering or answer honestly. Would it be possible for a lawyer in such circumstances to still go on and have a successful career?
I work with lawyers and I have to say lawyers are by and far either the most or least ethical people you have ever met.
And success is not determined by your ethics as a lawyer.
The best lawyers find the points of the truth that are the most salient to their case and push those.
Anedcote: I once had a lead developer who was a successful lawyer earlier in his career. He quit his law office because he could not stomach defending people who were not only obviously guilty, bet were scumbags as well.