"I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them." - Miss Maudie. The quote above states that Atticus Finch was a man who did "unpleasant things," but this quote is false. Miss Maudie had every good intention when she told Jem and Scout that and her point was taken in the way she intended it to be by the children. Her point could have been better understood if "our unpleasant jobs" were replaced with "what is right." Atticus did "unpleasant things" only because he knew that they were the right thing to do. Miss Maudie told the children about their father in this way only to avoid telling the children that the rest of the town was wrong. Atticus remained a pillar of righteousness in a town whose moral foundation was weak. When Atticus took Tom Robinson's case, he hadn't treated the case differently from any other case he would take. He knew that there was no way that Tom would be saved from death no matter how well he defended him. Atticus remained observant in his defense of Tom.
Another consequence of defending Tom Robinson in court, aside from being known as a "nigger lover" and opening himself to several other forms of racial hatred from the good people of Maycomb, Atticus also argued against a man who was known to be a drunk. Bob Ewell is a scary guy and it was decent of Atticus to put himself in a position of opposing such an unbalanced individual. Atticus remained a gentleman when Ewell confronted him at the post office. Most men in his position would have violently lashed out at Bob Ewell after being spat on. Atticus did the right thing and remained a gentleman throughout the confrontation.
Atticus Finch was a man who was constantly true to his convictions, a quality which is lacking in most of society. His training in law had to have a huge effect on his decisions in life, but its influence on his decisions was insignificant in comparison to his constant reminder that his children looked up to him and that his actions affected their moral thinking.