When you become an attorney in this state, you also become a
commissioner of the superior court. The second oath that you will take
today speaks to your responsibility as an officer of the court. Once you
have taken this oath and become an integral part of our system of
justice in this state, you have a responsibility to the court, in
addition to your allegiance to your clients.
Over the past few years, observers of the legal system have
recognized that, increasingly, lawyers are failing to balance the duty
to represent their clients vigorously while fulfilling their
responsibilities as an arm of the court in a civil and professional
manner. This imbalance has resulted in a decline in civility and
professionalism that directly affects all lawyers, as our profession is
no longer esteemed in the same way it was in the early days of this
country when over half of the participants in the 1787 constitutional
convention were lawyers. Sadly, this lack of civility in our profession
is reflective of an even larger problem that has led to a coarser
society that impacts all aspects of our lives today.
On this important day when you become members of the legal
profession, my colleagues and I welcome this opportunity to enlist your
help in meeting the important challenge of reversing this trend of
incivility and restoring professionalism and civility to the practice of
law. The problem is a complex one that will not be resolved overnight,
but it is heartening to know that bar associations all over this country
have recognized and accepted this challenge, and are taking steps to
raise our collective awareness and to encourage professionalism and
civility in the way we do business as lawyers. Nothing less than the
functioning of our system is at stake, and so we must succeed in this
endeavor. You have an exciting opportunity, through your individual
efforts, to make a difference.
As you begin your practice of law, you enter the profession with an
unblemished reputation. It is, therefore, worth all the effort it takes
to build and then maintain your good reputation, as there is no greater
asset that any lawyer holds. Knowing how to achieve this is not a skill
that has likely been taught in your law school classes. I would,
therefore, like to suggest some important steps you can take to begin
building a good name and making your contribution to restoring an
environment of civility and professionalism to the field of law. In this
pursuit, i am hopeful that you will achieve not only prosperity but
fulfillment of your professional aspirations as well.
The first step to building a good reputation is to become known for
your integrity. Be a person of your word, and your opponents and the
judges you appear before will trust what you say as being truthful.
Secondly, be a lawyer who works hard for your client, but plays fair,
and be aware that what goes around, comes around. I'm sure some of you
encountered law students who resorted to tactics like hiding library
resources to gain an advantage. Those law students become the lawyers
who fax emergency motions to the court, but mail them to opposing
counsel in an attempt to prevent counsel from having sufficient time to
prepare for argument on the motions.
Those lawyers who repeatedly rely on "sleight of hand" tricks and
duplicity eventually find that the scales often tip in favor of the
lawyer who is known for his or her integrity and fairness when judges
are faced with tough calls on credibility.
Practicing civility and professionalism in all of your dealings with
opposing counsel, court staff and judges - and even within your own firm
- is a relatively easy way to begin building a reputation of credibility
and dependability. For example, if you schedule a deposition, have the
courtesy to arrive on time and to respect the schedule of opposing
counsel and all involved. Lawyers who cancel depositions when opposing
counsel is en route often find that such unprofessional actions are
returned, and such reciprocal bad manners contribute to the decline in
professionalism on a larger scale.
It is also important to understand that zealous representation of
your client and civility are not mutually exclusive in practice. In the
words of Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy in a 1997 speech to the
American bar association, "civility is the mark of an accomplished and
superb professional, but it is even more than this. It is an end in
itself. Civility had deep roots [in] the idea of respect for the
individual. We are civil to each other because we respect one another's
human aspirations and equal standing in a democratic society. We must
restore civility to every part of our legal system and public discourse.
Civility defines our common cause in advancing the rule of law….freedom
may be born in protest, but it survives in civility."
In a developed society, a court of law is the civilized alternative
to a pugilistic battleground for resolving disputes. It is a sad
commentary that so-called "Rambo tactics" have become commonplace among
some in our profession. In a 2002 article entitled the ethics of
zealous advocacy: civility, candor and parlor tricks, the author,
Douglas Richmond, a partner in a Kansas city law firm, defines
incivility as being "all manner of adversarial excess," including
"personal attacks on other lawyers, hostility, boorish behavior,
rudeness, insulting behavior, and obstructionist conduct." in my mind,
it also suggests approaching the practice of law as if it were a series
of athletic contests or a game, the goal of which is to win at all
costs. We lawyers and judges must demonstrate awareness that we are not
players in a game. The practice of law generally involves matters that
go to the heart of personal relationships, often in conflict. As a
lawyer, your role must, therefore, be not only to see that your client's
rights are vigorously protected, but also to see that truth triumphs
over dishonesty and justice overcomes lawlessness as you assist the
court in resolving conflicts.
One of the root causes identified for the loss of civility in the
legal profession is that the practice of law has become more of a
business than a profession. Keen competition, pressure relating to
billable hours and concerns about the firm's "bottom line" have become,
to some lawyers, reasons for justifying unprofessional conduct. Common
sense, however, tells us that discourteous conduct towards opposing
counsel often results in a negative impact on the bottom line, as it
risks incurring the displeasure of the court or inspires payback from
opposing counsel. Either of these consequences may lead inevitably to
financial costs or even monetary sanctions that must be absorbed by the
firm in extreme cases.
The practice of law has historically been referred to as a noble
profession. The increase of incivility and unprofessional behavior,
however, has tainted the public's view of lawyers, and so we must join
forces to restore nobility to our profession through our civil treatment
of, and respect for, everyone who has a role in the legal process,
whether we are on the same side - or the opposing side - of a dispute.
We must be adversaries without being enemies. We must return to a
practice of taking the high road with fairness, courtesy and simple good
manners. We must mend fences rather than trample them.
We have an important role to play in society, but we must approach it
with humility. As John Davis, a former United States solicitor general,
is quoted as saying about our profession, "true, we build no bridges. We
raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures. There is
little of all that we do which the eye...can see. But we smooth out
difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other
men and women's burdens and by our efforts we make possible [a] peaceful
life."
I hope that you will embark on your professional journey with a sense
of pride in your chosen vocation and a collective resolve to make your
individual mark in restoring our profession to its place of esteem and
nobility in our society. As William Shakespeare said in the play,
Taming of the Shrew, “do as adversaries do in law. Strive mightily,
but eat and drink as friends.”
On behalf of my colleagues on the Supreme Court and the men and women
of the Judicial Branch, I congratulate you and those who supported you
in becoming members of the bar of the state of CONNECTICUT.
