“The Roles of Lawyers in the Conflict Resolution in Thai Society,” my interest was sparked after having been informed of the speech topic. As a law student and potentially a future lawyer, my occupation will indeed be involved with “conflicts” on a daily basis. It is, therefore, very intriguing to explore the particular duties of lawyers in resolving conflicts in Thai society. Additionally, because I have never joined a speech competition before, I believe that in taking the risk, I will be able to learn more and improve myself on speech conducting as an essential skill in life. With these reasons combined, I decided to join the competition.

Ever since I became a law student, I always have the thought that “everyone is governed by law, but not everyone knows the law.” Interestingly, this phrase was the first to come into my mind when thinking of the given topic; later, it became the main focus of my speech. In my speech, I proposed that lawyers have two main roles in conflict resolutions: the role of connectors and mirrors. Within a conflict, there are opposing and various opinions on an issue, where each of the opinions aims to establish a specific result. However, it is undisputed that whatever the perspectives of one may be, those perspectives will need to be in parallel with the general principle established by the law. As such, lawyers are acting, first, as connectors; it is the duty of lawyers to connect the thoughts of the conflicting individuals to the law–to provide an understanding of what the law has established, and whether what the individuals are aiming to establish coincides with those established legal principles. Significantly remarked, lawyers should emphasize their focus on connecting the thoughts of the individuals to the general principles of law, rather than the existing laws; while the existing laws can always be changed to adapt to the shifting society, the general principles which portrays the aim of the law in upholding a peaceful society will remain unaltered. Secondly, lawyers also have the role of mirrors. Because we are one of the professions that has a thorough understanding of the law, we can critically mirror and evaluate the contemporary legal issues and loopholes in the legal provisions to prevent unlawful repercussions and to lower conflicts.