It is often said that truth of a situation will be best found through the American trial system, in which a lawyer for each side represents that side to the best of the lawyer's ability.

But the Greek philosopher Plato, in the Phaedrus, suggests that a lawyers tend to "keep probability in view, and say good-bye to the truth." For instance, Plato quotes the orator Tsias, who supposes that a weak and valiant man assaults a strong but cowardly man and robs him. Tsias suggests both parties should lie in court. The cowardly man should claim there was more than one robber, while the weak man should insist they were alone, and argue that a weak man like himself couldn't have robbed such a strong man.