Editing Demosthenes (section)

===Legal career===
To make his living, Demosthenes became a professional litigant, both as a "[[Logographer (legal)|logographer]]" ({{Lang|grc|λογογράφος}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|logographos}}), writing speeches for use in private legal suits, and as an advocate ({{Lang|grc|[[wikt:συνήγορος|συνήγορος]]}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|sunégoros}}) speaking on another's behalf. He seems to have been able to manage any kind of case, adapting his skills to almost any client, including wealthy and powerful men. It is not unlikely that he became a teacher of rhetoric and that he brought pupils into court with him. However, though he probably continued writing speeches throughout his career,{{Ref label|E|e|none}} he stopped working as an advocate once he entered the political arena.<ref>Demosthenes, ''Against Zenothemis'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0076%3Aspeech%3D32%3Asection%3D32 32] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520110322/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0076%3Aspeech%3D32%3Asection%3D32 |date=20 May 2012 }}<br />* G. Kennedy, ''Greek Literature'', 514.</ref>
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" | "If you feel bound to act in the spirit of that dignity, whenever you come into court to give judgement on public causes, you must bethink yourselves that with his staff and his badge every one of you receives in trust the ancient pride of Athens."
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | Demosthenes (''On the Crown'', 210)—The orator's defence of the honour of the courts was in contrast to the improper actions of which Aeschines accused him.
|}

Judicial oratory had become a significant literary genre by the second half of the fifth century, as represented in the speeches of Demosthenes' predecessors, [[Antiphon (person)|Antiphon]] and [[Andocides]]. Logographers were a unique aspect of the Athenian justice system: evidence for a case was compiled by a magistrate in a preliminary hearing and litigants could present it as they pleased within set speeches; however, witnesses and documents were popularly mistrusted (since they could be secured by force or bribery), there was little cross-examination during the trial, there were no instructions to the jury from a judge, no conferencing between jurists before voting, the juries were huge (typically between 201 and 501 members), cases depended largely on questions of probable motive, and notions of natural justice were felt to take precedence over written law—conditions that favoured artfully constructed speeches.<ref>G. Kennedy, "Oratory", 498–500<br />* H. Yunis, ''Demosthenes: On The Crown'', 263 (note 275).</ref>

Since Athenian politicians were often indicted by their opponents, there was not always a clear distinction between "private" and "public" cases, and thus a career as a logographer opened the way for Demosthenes to embark on his political career.<ref>J Vince, ''Demosthenes Orations'', Intro. xii.</ref> An Athenian logographer could remain anonymous, which enabled him to serve personal interests, even if it prejudiced the client. It also left him open to allegations of malpractice. Thus for example Aeschines accused Demosthenes of unethically disclosing his clients' arguments to their opponents; in particular, that he wrote a speech for Phormion (350 BC), a wealthy banker, and then communicated it to Apollodorus, who was bringing a [[capital punishment|capital charge]] against Phormion.<ref name="AischIII173">Aeschines, ''Against Ctesiphon'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0002%3Aspeech%3D3%3Asection%3D173 173] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520112051/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0002%3Aspeech%3D3%3Asection%3D173 |date=20 May 2012 }}; Aeschines, ''The Speech on the Embassy'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0002%3Aspeech%3D2%3Asection%3D165 165.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520143146/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0002%3Aspeech%3D2%3Asection%3D165 |date=20 May 2012 }}</ref> Plutarch much later supported this accusation, stating that Demosthenes "was thought to have acted dishonourably"<ref name="Pl15">Plutarch, ''Demosthenes'', 15.</ref> and he also accused Demosthenes of writing speeches for both sides. It has often been argued that the deception, if there was one, involved a political ''[[quid pro quo]]'', whereby Apollodorus secretly pledged support for unpopular reforms that Demosthenes was pursuing in the greater, public interest<ref>G. Kennedy, "Oratory", 516.</ref> (i.e. the diversion of [[Theorica|Theoric Funds]] to military purposes).