As one of the examples, when it was not easy to sit on the lawyer's chair, I cite the case of a man, whom I defended on official duty, who in a town on the coast in a brutal manner killed an entire family, three sons, a mother and a father, and a year before that of a young man in Belgrade. To be honest, when I saw the video from the scene on television and heard about that crime, my wife and I cried because of the bad fate of that family and everything that happened to them, that, well, after a short time, I would be someone who defended that man, who committed the heaviest crime in the history of the Montenegrin judiciary," attorney Zdravko Begović tells Život about one of the most disturbing situations he encountered in his long-term legal practice.
Begović notes that by official duty he is obliged to defend every defendant.
"You may wonder why I agreed to defend such a man, and I can say that I am bound by the code of professional ethics to defend every defendant, regardless of the criminal offense involved," says Begović.
He says that, for ethical reasons, he paid the full amount of the compensation he received from the court for the defense in that case to the Home for neglected children in Bijela.
About how stressful being a lawyer is, Begović says that he feels it best "on his own skin", when after "difficult trials" he leaves the courtroom, physically and mentally completely exhausted.
"On those days, I feel anxious, irritable, sometimes even sleepy and tired, which is the body's reaction to the hard work I did on those days," says Begović.
He likes socializing, trips...
He deals exclusively with criminal matters, so that every day he is an actor of very disturbing events and situations related to various murders, robberies, rapes or other serious crimes committed by the persons he is defending.
"As much as I try to isolate myself from all that in such situations, in the sense that I experience it exclusively as a job, it is still almost impossible, since for a high-quality defense it is necessary to study every piece of evidence and practically live with the case," says Begović.
He says that he heals daily stress from work best in the circle of his family, his wife Larisa, daughter Nina, son Nikola and cousin Ksenia, "who are my oasis in the desert and who bring me back to life after hard work".
"The most beautiful moments when everything is forgotten are hanging out with them, going on trips together, imitating each other, giving each other cute nicknames and recounting incidents from our private lives. Part of my anti-stress therapy is my children's sports activities. An important part of my 'extra-court activities' is sports and going to nature. I regularly play soccer with my colleagues twice a week, where we get tired and have fun, and every weekend I go with my family to my father's native village, Bandiće, where we all enjoy nature and sun together and hanging out with farm animals," says lawyer Begović.
They see the defender as an enemy "
Precisely because of the fact that I defend a man who committed a serious crime, where someone's life was taken, it often happens that the relatives of the injured party, as well as the lay public, perceive me, as the defendant's defender, as their enemy and someone who is on the side of evil and injustice", says the lawyer, president of the Bar Association of Montenegro. He tries to defend his clients in a professional and, above all, dignified way, so that he never causes pain to the members of the injured family or deepens their suffering due to the death of a loved one. "There were cases when I was aware that I could not defend some clients for the crime they committed, but I tried to give the client a fair trial in such defenses. I asked him to, as far as possible, present his defense in the most correct way possible, admitting the crime and expressing a high degree of remorse and remorse. All with the intention of not increasing the pain of the injured family and making the situation more difficult due to the loss of a close relative," says Begović.
Live each day as if it were your last
To all people whose work is stressful, Begović recommends changing the style and philosophy of life.
"People should spend more time with those they love, spend more time in nature and in the sun, because the sun is the source of life, as well as take care of their diet and move more. In other words, to understand that there is only one life, that it should be enjoyed and that each day should be lived as if it were the last," says Begović.
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