"An Honest Calling": Practicing Law the Right Way

While musing on professionalism in anticipation of my presentation in Nashville, I find it helpful to reflect on some experiences with unprofessional attorneys and work backward.

There are the Rambo litigators, who will exploit any advantage to achieve what they would consider a “win” at any cost. Honor is expendable for them. The bombers refuse common courtesy and enjoy inflicting pain on their opponents. Angry litigants are often attracted to these types, referring to them as “pit bulls”. I find this a bit ironic since I live with two pit bulls, and they are far from the killers their name connotes. They might lick you to death, but that’s about it.

Then there are those who’re chronically truth challenged. To be charitable, some sincerely misconstrue facts in their heads, creating a reality distortion field for themselves. They truly believe their fiction. Others just use mendacity as a survival mechanism because they lack integrity. After all, it’s easier to lie about something than to deal with inconvenient facts. They lie to their clients about what the Judge said at a pretrial conference; they lie to the Judge about what she or he said previously (hoping he or she won’t remember); and they lie to you about anything they think they can get away with. Still others are just unprepared and try to wing it, making up facts as they go.

The do-nothings are almost worse than the former two categories. They literally do nothing to advance the case: phone calls are unreturned, solicitations for settlement conferences are ignored, attempts to resolve temporary issues are neglected, as is any attempt to move the case forward. It is only when a gun is at their head, put there by a frustrated client or an impatient Judge, that these do-nothings act. While some are idle to wear their opponent down, most are not tactical but chronic procrastinators, overwhelmed by their mounting obligations. Often, as a result, they play the displacement of blame game and become the truth-busters discussed above.

So as a starting point, when thinking about professionalism, one must draw wisdom, from the breaches by some of our peers. I’ve been spending a lot of time studying Lincoln’s law practice. After he died, his secretaries Nicolay and Hay discovered some notes on the practice of law that Lincoln wrote before becoming president. Historians now believe he was compiling notes for a lecture on the practice of law that he intended to give at some point. Fate intervened, of course, and no lecture was ever given.

In any event, Lincoln’s notes exemplify professionalism. According to Lincoln, professionalism can be distilled into three primary components: diligence, integrity, and honesty. And he lived by those principles both as a lawyer and as a person.

Diligence

Diligence simply involves attending to one’s responsibilities, being sensitive and responsive to clients, and acting in their best interests. It’s rare that that letting cases languish for years serves the interests of clients. Most professional responsibility complaints involve lawyer unresponsiveness: not returning calls, failing to update clients and missing deadlines. All of this can be remedied with a professional mindset of diligence.

Diligence incorporates being well prepared. Professional athletes show up on game day emotionally, physically, and mentally prepared–and so should you. Professionals know the facts of their case, the law, and their arguments (more importantly, their opponents’ arguments!) before the case is called.

Another component of diligence is time management. Strict adherence to deadlines and case management schedules is a key component of professionalism. Diligence involves planning and file management as well. Professionals can get their hands on any reference or evidentiary materials because they spend time plowing the ground first. Maintaining an active file review system is critical to professionalism.

Integrity

I define integrity as acting with high emotional intelligence. A lawyer exemplifies this when he or she follows the golden rule, treating others as they’ like to be treated. I remind my associates to treat our clients like they’d want a lawyer to treat one of their family members. Professionals treat their clients with respect, even when the client doesn’t always reciprocate.

In addition, integrity-based practice involves treating opposing counsel with respect. Good-faith continuances should be granted, and cooperation should be the rule rather than the exception. One also should not be so quick to Judge their opponents’ conduct as malevolent. More likely, the offender's conduct is either selfish, foolish, or driven by an unreasonable client. Professionalism involves knowing when your ego is misinterpreting bad manners as a personal attack.

Integrity requires respect for the court and adherence to proper decorum. A professional is punctual, prepared, and respects the Judge’s time. And he or she doesn’t engage in food fights at the bench. A professional respects the ruling of the court even when it’s wrong (that's why we have appellate courts). Finally, a professional is a problem solver, taking reasonable positions and suggesting common-sense solutions to help the court.

Honesty

In his notes, Lincoln emphasizes the importance of honesty for lawyers:

There is a vague popular belief that lawyers are necessarily dishonest. I say vague, because when we consider to what extent confidence and honors are reposed in and conferred upon lawyers by the people, it appears improbable that their impression of dishonesty is very distinct and vivid. Yet the impression is common, almost universal. Let no young man choosing the law for a calling for a moment yield to the popular belief -- resolve to be honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation, rather than one in the choosing of which you do, in advance, consent to be a knave.

Ethical lawyers don’t lie. They level with their clients when options are limited. They advise the client what a Judge actually said and don't gloss over the bad news. And they don’t misrepresent facts or legal authorities to a court. When you’re an honest lawyer, your opponents don’t need written confirmation that you said what you said—your word is good.

While it’s easier to lie your way out of a problem, true professionals “eat their own cooking” and own up to their mistakes. I have no doubt that had Nixon owned Watergate, he would have successfully finished his second term. The truth often hurts, but not as much as coverups.

Ethics Versus Professionalism

We are all obligated, at a minimum, to adhere to the canons of professional responsibility. This is not debatable. But we’re under a higher duty to act professionally as well. While acting ethically will preserve your law license, acting professionally will enhance it and the quality of your practice. Employ diligence, integrity, and honesty in your practice, and your reputation will soar. And while I don’t know for certain, I would guess that the higher one’s level of professionalism, the happier they are in the practice.

Be like Lincoln. Live your professional and personal life with honor and integrity. Be an example for others, and in doing so, elevate our profession.