A few weeks ago, it was my turn to make a 10-minute presentation at my local networking group. After some thought, I decided to discuss those things that have influenced the way I practice law, rather than the details of what I actually do. I wanted to focus on the how, not the what. In the process I rediscovered something I had not thought about in a long time.
For us attorneys, there are three accomplishments that brought us to where we are today. The first is graduating from law school. As one would expect, this results in a lot of celebration. The physical reminder of this accomplishment is our diploma. My diploma was immediately framed (I spent a lot of money on that frame) and has been in my office ever since.
The second major accomplishment was passing the bar exam. We all have a story about how we nervously tore into the letter from the bar association to find out if we had passed. That letter may not have been framed, but was proudly passed around to friends and family.
The third accomplishment was being sworn in as an attorney. This means we took the oath of an attorney in open court in front of a judge. Afterwards, we signed the oath in front of the judge, who also signed. Perhaps there was some family there, and a sponsoring lawyer. Youthful, exuberant and full of hope, we then plunged headlong into our careers, determined to “make a dent in the universe”, as Steve Jobs would say.
For me, the last event happened thirteen years ago. Right now I can tell you where my diploma is and where the wallet-sized card is that was given to me by the bar association stating I am a licensed attorney.
But what about the swearing-in thing? Unlike the other two events, I don’t have a very clear memory of it. And more importantly, what did I swear to do? Most people know the traditional marriage oath. You know, the “’till death do us part” and “in sickness and in health” thing. But as I thought about this in preparing for my presentation, I came to the conclusion I had no idea what the attorney’s oath was.
So I rummaged through my belongings, found and dusted off the oath I had signed thirteen years ago. Well, not really. I had no idea where it was, and no idea whether I even kept a copy. Embarrassing.
A quick Internet search, and I found the Washington attorney’s oath. Here is what it says:
I, _______________________ do solemnly declare:
1. I am fully subject to the laws of the State of Washington and the laws of the United States and will abide by the same.
2. I will support the constitution of the State of Washington and the constitution of the United States.
3. I will abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct approved by the Supreme Court of the State of Washington.
4. I will maintain the respect due to the courts of justice and judicial officers.
5. I will not counsel, or maintain any suit, or proceeding, which shall appear to me to be unjust or any defense except as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law, unless it is in defense of a person charged with a public offense. I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me only those means consistent with truth and honor. I will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement.
6. I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my client, and will accept no compensation in connection with the business of my client unless this compensation is from or with the knowledge and approval of the client or with the approval of the court.
7. I will abstain from all offensive personalities, and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged.
8. I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay unjustly the cause of any person.
Does this surprise you? It surprised me. I had no idea my oath was that… broad. This oath isn’t just a “don’t lie, cheat and steal” oath. I actually promised to do some things as well. Like always consider the cause of the defenseless and oppressed. Yes, the promise to “abstain from all offensive personalities” is kind of quaint. But I’m quite certain the drafters of this oath were dead serious.
This leads to a few questions. The first one is very personal. Have I been keeping my oath? If this was a question about my marriage oath, I know exactly how to find out: ask my wife. How would I find out if I have kept my attorney’s oath? Of course, my conscience can give me some guidance. But probably the people to ask would be the attorneys I work with, the judges who know me, and my clients. Do I dare ask?
And I have more questions. Why had I completely forgotten about my oath of attorney?And why is it that I know exactly where my diploma and attorney card are and didn’t even bother to keep a copy of the oath I signed?
If I ever have an opportunity to sponsor a new attorney, I would require my new associate to frame the signed oath and hang it in his or her office alongside their diploma. I’d even be willing to pay for the framing. I would also make the swearing in ceremony more meaningful. Sure, there’s a lot to celebrate. But how about adding something making the event more contemplative, self-reflective and … solemn. Because if we break our marriage vows, we devastate our spouse and our children. If we brazenly break our attorney’s oath, is it not possible that we could negatively impact the lives of even more people?
The bottom line is that whatever we do for a living, it’s healthy to take a step back and reconsider the promises we made to get to where we are today.
Dear Attorney Anderson,
I am not an attorney, but I have better than average legal knowledge and of course an extremely skilled manner in my researching what ever my issue may be, thanks to the internet which if used properly can level the playing field quit quickly.
Hence, my finding your comments here and I immediately felt compelled to applaud you and loudly.
Over the last year and a half I have had to fire one attorney only to replace him with one that may have even been worse.
I am apparently extremely bad at character judgments.
I have fought many legal challenges and have never lost while representing myself or others but now when I found myself in serious legal troubles and I felt it prudent to not attempt to represent myself and hire two professionals. One at a time.
Of course I also used my skills to assist the attorneys in legal discovery, things I knew they either would not have time to do for what I paid, or perhaps even might not have thought of, which turned out to be beyond correct.
But even by arming them with this additional knowledge I still basically lost, even though the last attorney considered my accepting a plea as a win, I don’t see it that way.
I had no more in me and certainly no more money to fight.
I am disabled and live on a fixed income and what I do is fight for the rights of others and I am generally effective.
I was searching for the lawyers oath when I found you and finally I felt some kind of comfort because up until I read what you wrote, my feeling were of disgust for attorneys as I have always thought that to have been an attorney and the power that knowledge brings, I only could imagine how much more I could have helped others and so much more effectively.
A long time ago I read the following and I hope there’s enough space allowed here as you so closely paralleled the Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court’s statement on this very issue.
I have shortened the following, but if you wanted to find it in it’s entirety I have the PDF as I thought it was worth keeping for some reason.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2007 – 4:00 P.M.
THE CLERK: All rise. This joint session of the
United States District Court for the Western District of
Washington, the Washington State Supreme Court, the Washington
State Court of Appeals, Pierce County Superior Court, Pierce
County District Court and Municipal Courts is now convened,
the Honorable Robert S. Lasnik, Chief United States District
Judge, presiding.
I will skip down to the Chief Justice:
CHIEF JUSTICE ALEXANDER
Allow me, on behalf of myself and my colleagues on the
Washington Supreme Court, to extend congratulations to all of
you who will take the oath of attorney today.
Let me also welcome you to the Washington State Bar
Association and to the Bar of the United States District Court
for the Western District of Washington.
This ceremony, which as I’ve already indicated, I am sure
is a happy occasion for everyone here. It marks the end of a
major effort that each new admittee to the Bar undertook some
time ago to gain the title of attorney and counselor at law.
Today that effort is complete, and you are joining the
noblest of professions. I know that each of you must feel
your cup is running over.
Although I don’t want to throw cold water on this happy occasion, I would remind you that though your formal law
school training is over, your continuing education as a lawyer
starts on this day and will go on until you retire or until
you leave this earthly place.
No one can know everything about the law. Consequently,
all of us in the profession, whether we are a judge or an
attorney, must constantly seek to improve our professional
skills. I suppose that is why we say about lawyers, that they are practicing law.
Before I surrender this holy pulpit that I have been
given, let me offer to you new attorneys a couple of tidbits
of advice, recognizing that this is totally unsolicited.
The first concerns the attorney oath that you will recite
in just a few moments. I urge you to keep a copy of that oath
handy, perhaps in your desk drawer, in your office, or even
better, framed on your office wall, so that it is a constant
reminder to you of your ethical obligations as an attorney.
It is also notice to your clients of the special
relationship that an attorney has with his or her clients.
I give you this advice because sooner than you think, and
when you are least expecting it, you are going to be faced
with ethical questions. Like all attorneys before you, you
are going to have to decide the questions: Should you do
something or should you not do something?
A good place to start the quest to resolve these ethical
dilemmas is to read the oath. The language is a bit
old-fashioned, as you will hear in just a moment, but there is
great wisdom in the oath, and it may help you resolve the
questions that are facing you. If you can’t find your answers
there in the oath, then consult the Rules of Professional
Responsibility or talk to a lawyer or a judge who you consider
to be mentor, or both. You could even call the Washington
State Bar Association and receive an informal ethics opinion on ethical questions.
The main thing for you to remember is to look before you
leap when you are confronted with an ethical question. A good
place to look is the oath which you are about to take.
The second bit of advice I would give you is this: Get
involved in the activities of your profession. I stress this
because it’s easy for one to get busy in their practice and
forget for a time that you are a member of an association of
lawyers. Not only that, you are in an association that is
unique among all professional associations, in that the Bar,
unlike the associations of the other learned professions is,
to a great extent, self-governing. This means that those who
are in the legal profession are very privileged.
At the same time, that means they have a great obligation
to the public to make certain that the profession is worthy of
the privileged status that it has been accorded.
I am sorry if I have now sent you an unsolicited and lengthy message, but I just thought you should know just how right you are and that there is someone who couldn’t have agreed with you more.
Best in life to you Sir.