Miles Edgeworth was actually a better lawyer than Phoenix Wright.

With regards to experience, I will say this: experience is likely to improve a person's skill. That's it. And since skill is a point on its own, experience need not be. If it is shown that Phoenix's skill is superior or equal to Edgeworth's, then Edgeworth's additional experience is meaningless. It is a cause that affects a person's abilities, it is not a reflection of ability itself. Also, before we continue, I would like to state that I may be at a disadvantage, since I still haven't finished Trials and Tribs (I'm only on the second case). With that said, I disagree that the prosecutors investigate more than the defense. However, since investigation skill is irrelevant to lawyerly ability, I will not linger on that. I will simply point out that throughout the game the prosecution ends up with more information than the defense, regardless of the cause of this. They are constantly adding evidence to the court record during a trial (evidence Phoenix has never seen) and they almost always know about all (or at least the overwhelming majority) of the defense's evidence. The fact that Edgeworth himself investigates does not show anything about his value as a lawyer. Perhaps it makes him a better detective, or helps make him better overall, but not a better lawyer. The fact is, even with Phoenix's investigations and his advantage with the Magatama, he ends up with less information than the prosecution in court. He's constantly being surprised by testimony he's never heard and evidence he's never seen. This cannot be said for the prosecution. Ergo, it is not Edgeworth's skill he uses to make his opponent appear foolish, but rather his increased knowledge of the case beforehand, be it by his own investigations or those of detectives. Since this is the duty of detectives, not lawyers, it does not reflect his skill as a lawyer. And when it comes to Edgeworth having several opportunities to get a guilty verdict, it is simply because the truth was on his side. In any of the cases where Phoenix was right (no pun intended), he too could have delayed the trial after the judge was ready to pass a not guilty verdict. However, this is a meaningless exercise, ergo Phoenix is not in the habit of doing it. Also, Edgeworth was not able to obtain a guilty verdict until a point after Wright had already became aware of Engarde's guilt. Here's a quote from Wright before a guilty verdict was ever about to be handed down: "if I were to get Engarde an acquittal... That... That isn't a proper defense at all!" And it isn't. At least I hold that it isn't, since it's a matter of opinion. Also, my opponent brings up how Edgeworth didn't even have much evidence on his side. However, he forgets the very nature of the justice system in PW; the Judge always shows an extreme favor for the prosecution; while the defense is always required to back up any claim with evidence, simple testimony is enough to condemn a person to guilty for murder. All the prosecution has to do is find someone to say "he did it, I saw him!" The defense is actually required to figure out what actually happened, present evidence to back it up, etc. Also, Edgeworth kept himself quite informed about the trial, so while he may not have been planning on being prosecutor, he already had quite a bit of information. My opponent holds that good presentation is in fact required for a good lawyer. However, all that truly matters is the verdict. Phoenix has always been able to attain a verdict that has reflected the truth. Next, my opponent says that the game does not clearly show whether lawyers are better off fighting for justice (finding the truth) or doing their job (obtaining a guilty/not guilty verdict regardless of whether it's appropriate). However, I don't need a game to tell me which is better. And Phoenix is much more effective when it comes to upholding justice in this way, since he has not strong-armed his way into getting false verdicts. Also, if you intend to play word games, so can I. Miles Edgeworth was not a better lawyer then Phoenix Wright, since neither of them ever existed. Because they never existed, one was certainly not better than the other. However, I am aware that most people, myself included, tend to ignore word games unless they were left too wide open that they should have been expected. If you're one of those people, ignore this paragraph. Also, just to add something, Phoenix was able to solve a case Edgeworth was unable to solve for 15 years: DL-6. This case was of the utmost importance to Miles, since it was the case of his father's murder. After 15 years, Edgeworth had no clue who had killed his father, but Phoenix Wright, through his uber lawyerly skills, was able to expose the truth in a matter of days. Also, Phoenix has a much better pointing stance than Miles. This is a very important quality for a lawyer to have, at least in the Phoenix Wright universe.