Skepticism About Lawyers as Prophets

In response to my Shaffer-inspired suggestion that Christian lawyers should function as prophets, Joe Knippenberg wonders:

Does this mean that Christian lawyers (or perhaps Christians simply) ought always and everywhere to be in an adversarial relationship with the powers that be? Should they never be "judges" or "kings," but only prophets? I mean that question somewhat seriously. A judge or a king has a responsibility for the less than savory work of administering a fallen human order; prophets don’t. Do we want to train lawyers who are "too good" for the normal workings of a secular state, who are so pure in their pursuit of justice that they’re perhaps impatient with the rule of (imperfect human) law?

Great point, and one with which I still struggle.  Two comments: first, I don't think the lawyer-prophet needs to be disconnected from the real world.  But I do think the lawyer-prophet needs to value her witness over the maintenance of power for power's sake.  That's one problem with mainstream evangelicalism's close association with the GOP (and with mainline Protestantism's close association with the Dems).  Second, while this is an important issue to explore, in practical terms, it's not a pressing one.  Perhaps I've been reading too much Hauerwas, but I'm inclined to doubt whether Christian lawyers will ever suffer from being always and everywhere adversarial with the powers that be.  Humans -- and lawyers especially -- are drawn to power like moths to flame.  Today prophets in the legal profession are few and far between.  One day an overabundance of separatist and subversive Christian lawyers might become a phenomenon that needs to be addressed, but we're nowhere near that point now.  In all likelihood, presenting our students with the prophetic model may heighten their skepticism (in a healthy way), but it won't trump human nature and marketplace dynamics.

A related criticism of the lawyer-as-prophet model, raised by one of my seminar students last year after reading Shaffer's essay, is that the biblical prophets were called individually and unmistakably by God to that role.  There is no professional class of prophets.  Is it possible to speak categorically of Christian lawyers and the substance of their calling?