September 2000

Professionalism: Getting to the Heart of the Matter

by Stella Rabaut

It was the best of times. I was hiking with friends in the exquisite Arches of Utah on our way to the Telluride Film Festival. We would be rubbing elbows with David Lynch and Richard Farnsworth as they introduced their new movie, The Straight Story, a movie that gets to the heart of the matter. After attending the screening, I listened to my voice-mail at work. The call from Richard Eymann was an invitation to chair the WSBA Professionalism Committee for the upcoming year.

I grew up in a family of lawyers — my father and grandfather before me, the two children I helped raise after me. So my interest in this profession runs deep. I had chaired other bar committees in Texas, but their titles were less elusive — Public Affairs, Citizens’ Legal Education. There was no mistaking what those meant. But a professionalism committee seemed more challenging. I thought briefly about the invitation and accepted the position of chair.

While still reflecting on what professionalism is, I have always had clarity about what it is not — excessive incivility, dishonesty, untrustworthiness. Having read The Professor and the Madman, I was increasingly curious about word origins, so I headed for the Oxford English Dictionary. Central in the definition of professionalism are "quality, character and method or conduct; the stamp of a particular profession." I asked myself: "What is the stamp of our profession?"

Over these last months, while acting as chair, I have struggled with and worked alongside professionals. All of this took place in the context of a Bar organization that was supportive of our efforts. Certainly, there are pleasing reflections, and yet there are others, too.

I cannot deny the frustration and sense of non-achievement involved in chairing this committee. Leadership with no easy answers, one of the main challenges I faced, was the theme of a workshop presented by Ron Hoefitz of the Harvard Kennedy School that I recently attended. He encouraged me to assess the challenges of our profession. It became increasingly apparent that quick-fix solutions do not get to the heart of the challenges.

I can decide not to laugh at lawyer jokes, and yet many do have an element of truth about the dark side of lawyering. I can support the work of other committee members to draft an aspirational civility code, and yet it is unlikely to impact those behaving brutishly. I can encourage the making of a video that shows the "good work" of lawyers — a kind of public relations effort — but I do not think my skeptical business colleagues will be swayed.

These ideas, while certainly with merit, do not begin to get to the heart of the problem.

You and I are going through a time of adaptive challenges in our profession for which there are no easy answers. According to Ron Hoefitz, adaptive work is required when the hardened attitudes which are the consequence of deeply held beliefs are challenged, when the values that made us successful become less relevant, and when legitimate yet competing perspectives emerge.

The key is to discern what is expendable to our profession and what is essential. I am reminded of the wisdom of Saint-Exupery’s Little Prince. "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye." Adaptive work is more challenging than what has been labeled "technical or routine work." Technical challenges can be resolved by finding the right tool, such as discouragement of lawyer jokes, a civility code, or an inspiring public relations video. Adaptive work requires a probing of deeply held attitudes as a condition for a change of heart. The legal profession’s adaptive challenge is to return to the core of justice and fairness in human affairs; to reestablish this as the underlying fundamental value.

At a time when legal information is available to all through the Internet, increasingly the demand is for creativity in problem solving, rather than citing the precedent. Major shifts are occuring in what clients need, want and demand. We must grieve the losses. We are no longer the sole resource for legal information. Clients are less willing to turn over control; rather, they seek consultation. In many ways our special role is being challenged.

Attitudes toward the legal profession are antagonistic and distrustful. Some of my colleagues insist this is simply because the public does not understand what lawyers really do. My colleagues encourage a public relations blitz about the legal profession that will restore the public trust. The only way to restore the public trust is to be trustworthy and to be experienced as trustworthy, since many of the public perceive lawyers as preoccupied with the profit-related aspects of the legal practice.

If there is a major flaw undermining law as a learned profession, it is a flaw of heart and spirit. This is not a matter of intellectual prowess or technological ability. While I believe professionalism encompasses technical competence along with emotional intelligence, the adaptive challenge lies in the third element of professionalism, namely personal and professional integrity. The heart of the lawyer is the heart of the matter.

New concepts are being touted that stretch our comfort zone. Multi-disciplinary practice will not go away; unbundled legal services are being sought by clients. Alternative law has become as sought after as alternative medicine. The question becomes what is essential and what is expendable to the practice of law. Where and how are we tending to the spirit of the lawyer? Can an emphasis on professionalism work toward recovering some of the initial primary motivating virtues like compassion, healing and justice, which are at the heart of our legal profession? We must find ways to provide the context to stimulate and challenge a revisioning of our profession.

As my year as chair unfolded, I was reminded of Parker Palmer’s book Let Your Life Speak. He encourages an inward journey to explore our personal call to the profession. He also describes a model for social change. It begins with people who have experienced a disconnect between their inner and outer lives stepping forward (divided no longer) and talking about their experience. Next, communities with similar values form (communities of congruence) to talk about various options. What follows is "going public," taking action, and talking about the new (or reclaimed) values and perceptions. Finally, the rewards are different, based on new values.

Within our legal profession, I have noticed change occurring. Yale law students participated in a weekend retreat emphasizing the importance of mindfulness and reflection as they enter the legal profession. This was presented as a counter-balance to the emphasis that is placed on intellectual agility and ability to analyze, often to the detriment of ideals or underlying values such as the pursuit of fairness and building a more just society.

An organization called the International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers continues to grow in number. Together its members explore the practice of law as a calling, finding joy in the practice of law, and viewing law as a healing profession. A project has been initiated by the Fetzer Institute titled Healing and the Law, designed to explore what it means to be a lawyer/healer and to foster deeper understanding and promotion of that role.

It is a time of opportunity, challenge and change. As lawyers we must learn to make shifts, and we must honor our deepest values. This takes reflection and discernment. As principled people, we know how to live life based on moral values and good conscience. Our call is to bring this to our professional practice. I believe the most effective public relations campaign would be: By their works shall you know them.

Clearly, I spent the year chairing the Professionalism Committee surrounded by colleagues who were "called" to the legal profession. They took their commitment to fairness and justice seriously. They wanted to improve upon how we relate to each another and how we deliver services to our clients; they showed up on sunny Friday afternoons to talk about it. Some drove over the mountains; others took ferries into the city. All came with a curiosity and willingness to share different viewpoints about where this profession is and where it can be. I believe that is how clarity and direction for our profession will come — in conversation with one another and with those outside our profession.

I had a strange sense of sadness and relief when I was jolted into realizing it was time to pass along the responsibilities of chair. I actually was feeling attachment — not to the Professionalism Committee, but to the professionals who joined me on this year’s journey.

There is reason to take heart.

Stella Rabaut has practiced law for over 20 years, both as in-house counsel and in private practice. Currently, she is adjunct faculty at the Leadership Institute of Seattle. Her particular interest is in ways of safeguarding the human spirit in the context of the legal profession. She can be reached at stellamr@aol.com.

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