"Oh Captain, my Captain" - Being a Professional Lawyer!

Today I want to share with you what I think it means to be a professional lawyer. Feeling sorrow for the great loss of a wonderful person and actor, Robin Williams, I decided to use as a title for my new post one of his quotes from the"Dead Poets Society" movie.

 

Being an attorney is a landmark event in life. It symbols both an end and a beginning. After years of committed studies, diligence and tenacity, law students get their bar license and they start to frequently lead other persons' lives as captains. The foregoing qualities are the characteristics of all virtuous and ethical lawyers.

 

It is a privilege and not a right for us to be a lawyer. The most noteworthy privilege for us is our reputation, which can be lost in every second. Not only should we receive respect from our clients and the general public, but also we should show deference to them.

 

I remember myself when I started practicing law in Greece. I was walking from the subway to my office every day and I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I was able to do the work that I love. I could have done my work pro bono, if I could, because I would enjoy to do that 24/7. 

 

However, at the end of  every journey there are always responsibilities. One of our most important commitments as lawyers is to serve our clients and public ethically, diligently, and competently. A lawyer without ethics is a tabula rasa.

 

From the time that we enter the legal arena, we have to act professionally and be focused on a myriad of values, such as integrity, respect, accountability, accuracy, leadership, activeness, spirit, service before self, pro bono public service, competence, care, sincerity, etc. Based on our values, the public evaluates us and our work. If we lose our professionalism, the world will suffer from the loss of its trust to us.

Being a professional lawyer is a difficult task. As lawyers, we should dedicate ourselves to the service of justice and we should do our best to solve the clients' and the public issues competently and zealously. Thus, our aim must focus on acting as an ethical captain in resolving and facilitating other people's matters.

 

Being rich will not make you happy. Being an outstanding professional will do. The time that an ethical dilemma will come out, take your mentor's advice for your apparently unanswerable problem. Above all, give meaning to little things and you may realize that there are things that really have true merit in life.