I haven’t posted for too long, but certainly have intended to share the following link, which is also on my links page – http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/ucja/ch14/03%20Civility/USB14-301.html, which is the Utah Standards of Professionalism and Civility.
As I continue to accumulate experience and seasoning as a lawyer, I especially find true and appreciate Standard 2, ”Lawyers shall advise their clients that civility, courtesy, and fair dealing are expected. They are tools for effective advocacy and not signs of weakness. Clients have no right to demand that lawyers abuse anyone or engage in any offensive or improper conduct.”
Of course, the standards should never have been necessary to lay out in such specific terms, as the ethics found in the Rules of Professional Responsibility generally cover the specifics found in the standards, but apparently we lawyers, as a profession, required these specific standards to be laid out for us.
My experience is that “bulldog” lawyers abuse all those around them and do not serve their clients in arriving at appropriate results in an appropriate manner. Many of these “mad dog litigators” end up costing their clients much more money than is necessaray to arrive at a result that is usually predictable once the action has begun. These types of lawyers generally tell their clients what the client wants to hear, not what the objective legal advisor sees as the merits and likely outcomes of the case really are. I find that clients prefer to be told my real opinion of their case, not what they want to hear the outcome of the case to be. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean I won’t poke and prod at a client’s case with the client to see if there is a way to help my client solve their case satisfactorily, but I also won’t blow smoke and tell a client they have a great case when they don’t, for them to learn the truth after expending vast amounts of emotional energy, time and money on their case.
I also intend to incorporate into my practice, and to inform clients – especially limited-scope clients – of the entire set of standards. I like how it ends with the final standard, “20. Lawyers shall not authorize or encourage their clients or anyone under their direction or supervision to engage in conduct proscribed by these Standards.” The law is and should be a noble profession, and good lawyers understand this and will protect and encourage others to respect the judicial process, which is necessarily cumbersome and thorough in order to preserve citizens’ rights. It is important to understand that it takes a lot of work in order to properly prepare matters to be brought to court – whether that work is done by a party “pro se” or by a lawyer, and there are few shortcuts to judge-decided outcomes of cases.
I invite comments on the above, even if you disagree. I think it is a healthy discussion to have.
