It seems that whenever a lawyer is indicted and brought to court, he/she hires a lawyer for representation. Even if he/she is a criminal defense lawyer. Why don’t they just represent themselves?
There’s an old saying “He who represents himself has a fool for a client”, and it applies just as much to lawyers as anybody else. Having an objective outsider look after your interests instead of making decisions based on your own emotions is worth quite a bit.
Also, if you’re giving testimony, it’s way easier to have someone else ask you questions.
“The lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.”
The whole point of representation is to have an objective advocate, one who is not emotionally involved in the case. I am not saying that lawyers are always objective or not emotionally involved in their clients case, just that they are more objective than their client.
From a practical standpoint it is more effective to have a third party plead ones case to a judge or jury. It sounds more credible to argue that “Mr. X is not guilty” as opposed to “I am not guilty”
Also you look really silly on the witness stand when you represent yourself.
ETA: Must learn to type faster…
Some times it’s best for the defendant to just sit down abd shut up.
Real-life example:
I am an expert witness in a case where the homeowner is suing the home builder because of poor drainage. The homeowner is an attorney and is representing himself.
He deposed me one day this summer, and as the deposition went along the homeowner/attorney became increasingly irate at my answers. He became less and less logical, missed several opportunities to gain useful information, and in the end made an ass of himself by losing his temper.
Do you think he will fare any better doing that in front of a judge? He should have hired another attorney and like Si says, sat down and shut up.
Another issue is area of expertise. Attorneys specialize in different things, and it may be that the attorney being brought to court is not a trial lawyer. He will not do well against a trial lawyer who does it day in and day out.
I asked an attorney this one time and his answer was “Every defendent needs somebody to lie for him,” but he was grinning and was obviously joking.
I think there’s a little truth to this. If a lawyer spins and exaggerates a little on behalf of his client, there’s much less risk to the client’s credibility than if the client does it himself or herself.
Besides the reasons above, it can be useful during negotiations to say “I need to ask the client about that” or "I agree with you about X, but my client is adament about Y. "
Also, it can depend on what’s at stake. If an attorney is indicted for stealing 50 million dollars, then obviously he or she’s gonna hire an attorney. If an attorney wants to sue his former landlord to get his $2000 security deposit back, chances are he or she will represent himself.
Same reason why a barber needs a barber…
Why does a doctor need another doctor to perform her colonoscopy?
Because it is not physically possible to perform it yourself. A lawyer on the other hand is physically capable of representing himself, it is just not a good idea for many of the reasons stated.
Consider the objections a defense lawyer might raise. When defense council does that, they are doing their job (being a responsible advocate for their client.) If the defendant does the same thing they are being a pain in the ass, and trying to hide the truth.
If the defendant will testify, self representation really screws up the question & answer format. The defendant ends up testifying in the narrative (which is less convincing than answering questions, and may be objected to by opposing council ) or asking themselves questions and answering them, which makes them look schizophrenic.
Also, representing yourself can be seen as arrogant - a bit like saying “No one else is as qualified to do this as I am!”
The client may know the facts, the attorney knows the evidence. It can be helpful to have an objective person differentiate between the two.
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Inability to be objective about one’s own legal problems.
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Lack of expertise in the relevant area of law.
I thought barbers shaved every person who doesn’t shave themselves…do they shave themselves? 
Criminal defense is a specialty that most lawyers do not practice or have experience in.