Isn’t it time we realized that lawyers are people, too?

What kind of law attorney and state Sen. Mark Hutchison practices doesn’t really matter when it comes to the kind of job he’d do if he’s elected Nevada’s lieutenant governor.

It just so happens Hutchison is a business litigator, who has also taken redistricting and constitutional law cases. But his political skill set isn’t affected one or the way the other if his firm takes personal injury cases.

And it does, by the way.

So you’ve got to wonder why Hutchison seemingly denied that fact in a recent televised debate with his rival for the Republican nomination, hotelier Sue Lowden. After “Nevada Newsmakers” host Sam Shad asked Lowden about $600,000 in unpaid debts from her failed 2010 U.S. Senate campaign, Lowden tried to pivot and called Hutchison a personal injury lawyer.

“As a personal injury lawyer, you always go back to the doctor, or the clinic or the hospital and renegotiate many of the fees and many of the payments that are due,” Lowden said. “That you do that, and your attorneys do that on a daily basis, it’s very common. And I’m surprised that you’re making an issue of something that’s common practice.”

Hutchison replied: “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but not a personal injury lawyer. I’m a defense lawyer who defends and represents business and corporations throughout Nevada.”

But Lowden pressed, telling Hutchison that if he wasn’t a personal injury lawyer, the firm of Hutchison &Steffen certainly employed them.

“No, I don’t employ personal injury lawyers,” Hutchison replied. “We are a business litigation, business defense, law firm. We defend and we represent business, and businesses are outraged by individuals who won’t pay their bills.” Bazinga.

Fact: Hutchison &Steffen “offers a personal injury practice which carefully selects the representation of individuals who have suffered personal injuries or damages by motor vehicles, bad faith, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. The Firm has extensive experience in litigating major personal injury actions to successful conclusion.” That’s from the firm’s website, which lists named partner John Steffen as one of the lawyers who practices in that area.

So, what gives? Lowden’s campaign has pounced on the discrepancy, saying Hutchison is lying and can’t be trusted. But Hutchison explains that, in the legal profession, “personal injury attorney” is a term of art that refers to someone who primarily practices in that area. Although lawyers at his firm do personal injury cases, none consider that as a primary practice area.

“Don’t label me something that I’m not,” Hutchison said. “That is not a focus of our firm.”

To be sure, one doesn’t put Hutchison &Steffen in the company of the valley’s popular TV lawyers. And it’s doubtful that those attorneys believe they’re in competition with the lawyers at Hutchison’s firm.

Lowden’s label was quite intentional, intended to convey to Republican primary voters that Hutchison was something of a bottom-feeding, sleazy ambulance chaser. It’s a caricature that unfortunately has been created by some bad legal actors, and nobody is more distressed about that reputation than lawyers themselves.

“The legal profession is an honorable profession,” Hutchison said. “Lawyers are engaged in one of the most honorable professions on earth.”

And that’s true whether you’re representing businesses, practicing constitutional law or helping people hurt by the negligence or intentional misconduct of another. If you’re giving good, honest, ethical and zealous representation to your clients, no lawyer — no matter his practice area — has anything for which to apologize.

So why not just say that? “I believe I was honest and forthright at the time [of the debate],” Hutchison said. “I continue to believe that.”

But Hutchison’s answer could have been even more honest, and even more forthright. He could simply have said, “sure, some of my partners and associates practice personal injury law. So what?” In a city that repeatedly elected a very talented criminal defense lawyer as its mayor, a state that elected a former judge as its governor and a country that elected a former constitutional law professor as its president, voters vote for the person, not the legal background.

Besides, the likely winner of the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, Lucy Flores, is a lawyer, too!

Steve Sebelius is a Las Vegas Review-Journal political columnist who blogs daily at SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.