Truth be told, I couldn't do criminal defense because I'd feel bad for victims of my clients. But while I used to buy into the "criminal defense is the bad guy" narrative of shows like Law & Order, I gained tons of respect for defense attorneys in law school. Especially public defenders, which is a completely thankless job. Police hate them. Their clients often hate them. The public hates them. And they get paid less than most other attorneys. But a lot of them do it because they believe in helping people who make bad choices. And the system depends on them to run. Of course there are bad ones as in any field, but I really have tons of respect for them as a whole.