Kush Arora on Being a Criminal Defense Attorney

What made you decide to become a criminal defense attorney?

Kush Arora: I spent some time doing work in a Washington, DC Law Students in Court program and also did a great deal of work with Moot Court Society. I saw criminal work as the only way that I was going to be able to be on my feet, litigating in court every day. I spent some time doing work at corporate firms, both as an intern and a summer associate, and I didn’t find that I was able to fully enjoy the practice of law quite as much as when in a courtroom. I really wanted to be able to litigate the issues I had spent so long researching and preparing. Criminal work allows me to do that every day.

What is your favorite aspect of being a criminal defense attorney in Maryland?

Kush Arora: I absolutely love working with constitutional issues, and I think there is no other area of the law that allows you to address constitutional issues that affect the public more than being a criminal defense attorney. This is the only field of law that allows you to address issues of not only the basic constitutional principles, but also particular amendments that have been added over the course of the history of our country. Those are some of my favorite reasons that I get to practice the kind of law that I do.

Having practiced in the state for almost 10 years, I’ve had an opportunity to know the judges and prosecutors and other professional members of the criminal justice system. These are people who are passionate about the work that they do and are always encouraged to learn more about the criminal system. It’s not just a job for the legal professionals that I work with, it’s a career.

What do you love most about your job in general?

Kush Arora: This is a job that changes every day, whether it’s with the kind of case that you get or the client that you’re helping. You’re dealing with people who are in very serious and, sometimes, life-altering circumstances. Having an opportunity to work with those people, attempt to make a difference in their lives, and apply what I have learned to their case, not only in my training in law school but over the years as a litigator, is what I love. It gives me an opportunity to be challenged every day, to learn something new every day, and I don’t think that I would be able to get that in any other profession.

I have a lot of friends who are lawyers and non-lawyers that don’t feel the same way about their job, so I consider myself extremely lucky to be not only a criminal defense attorney, but one with a firm like ours. Working here allows me the freedom to grow as a lawyer and learn something new every time I get a case.