"It is the responsibility of all lawyers who practice in the State of Missouri to strive at all times to uphold the honor and maintain the dignity of the profession. . . .”

Preamble, Supreme Court Rule 7

“I do solemnly swear that I will maintain the respect due courts of justice, judicial officers and members of my profession, and will at all times conduct myself with dignity becoming of an officer of the court in which I appear. . . .”

Oath of Admission,
Supreme Court Rule 8.15

In their very first professional act, all Missouri lawyers pledge to conduct themselves at all times with dignity becoming an officer of the court.

It has been my experience in practicing law for the past 27 years that the overwhelming majority of Missouri lawyers practice law while maintaining the highest levels of integrity, civility, and professionalism. This is true whether they practice in the private or public sector, whether they are experienced or inexperienced, whether they practice in large firms, small firms, or as solo practitioners, and whether they practice in urban or rural areas. In my experience, an extremely high percentage of lawyers and judges consistently exhibit courtesy and respect to counsel, parties, witnesses and court personnel, and conduct themselves with the dignity and decorum properly due the courts and our justice system.

It has also been my experience that lawyers cooperate whenever possible on procedural and logistic matters, allowing the focus to remain on the substance of the case at hand. This includes near universal cooperation in scheduling discovery, meetings and hearings. Further, it has been my experience that lawyers are cooperative in agreeing to extensions of time when possible, and giving appropriate notification of schedule changes and conflicts.

It is no accident when lawyers practice at the highest levels of civility, honesty, and competency. The profession of law has traditionally attracted the best and the brightest from our society, and our law schools have done an excellent job in cultivating and training their students before sending them on to the practice.

The first goal of The Missouri Bar’s long range plan is to promote the highest standards of professionalism among its members. The bar has accomplished this in a variety of ways. For example, the bar has long had an active professionalism committee. In addition, the bar provides a variety of well-received CLE programs dedicated to enhancing and promoting professionalism. In the next several weeks alone, MoBarCLE will include a half-day program on how to be professional, a full-day seminar on starting a law practice (with a strong component dealing with professionalism), and a two-day seminar dedicated to best practices in the areas of professionalism, client relationships, and ethical advertising, among other practice management issues.

Another Missouri Bar effort dedicated to promoting and enhancing professionalism is its mentoring program, which has assisted literally hundreds of our members in sharing professional values, expanding best practices, and improving overall practice competence.

Yet, despite all we do, and despite many of our own experiences, in recent years there has been an increasing perception among lawyers and the public they serve that the legal profession is evolving from a highly respected vocation into an increasingly uncivil occupation focused on billable hours, the bottom line, and unseemly advertising marked by a commensurate decline in professionalism.

In view of this perception/reality, The Missouri Bar is committed to redoubling its efforts to do all that it can to promote a culture of professionalism among Missouri’s lawyers. What can and should the bar do? Should we develop principles of professionalism as aspirational goals for our members? Should we adjust our advertising rules and require that our services be promoted in a more dignified and professional way? Should we develop a mandatory CLE program for first-year lawyers dealing solely with professionalism and the highest standards of accepted professional behavior? Should we work with our law schools to encourage them to devote more resources and energy to the teaching of professionalism, to the extent that every substantive course contains professionalism themes and emphasis? Should we create a professionalism commission to promote Missouri lawyers’ adherence to professionalism principles and acting in a professionally acceptable and civil manner, and to oversee the education of lawyers, law students and the judiciary on professional ethics and standards of accepted professional behavior?

To address these and other issues involving the state of professionalism among Missouri’s lawyers, I have appointed a blue ribbon panel of lawyers from across the state. Chaired by President-Elect H.A. “Skip” Walther, the group will report to the Board of Governors in early 2009 with its advice and recommendations in this regard.

The Missouri Bar is committed to doing all that it can to promote a culture of professionalism based on ethics and integrity, respect for lawyers, adequate access to justice, and respect for the rule of the law.