October 2002

Perceptions: A Conversation, A Movie, A Newspaper

by Dick Manning, WSBA President

August 8, 2002. It was 5:00 Thursday morning. The cabbie was taking me to SeaTac so I could catch a plane to the National Conference of Bar Presidents, held in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. "How's business?" My question opened Pandora's box. I heard about criminal assaults on cab drivers and other dangers of the occupation. "It's the lawyers who have created the problem," he said. "It seems like anyone who's committed a crime can hire a lawyer and almost get out of it. And I blame the judges, too. It seems like they bend the law."

We talked about the plea-bargaining system — how the criminal-justice system would be totally gridlocked without it; how many crime victims (and/or their loved ones) are dissatisfied and disaffected with the system and would like to throw the key away.

"You seem very professional. You must be a doctor or a lawyer." I felt like Clark Kent, whose secrecy as Superman had been threatened. When I told him the second choice was the correct one, he was chagrined and, in a kindly way, excused himself, "Oh, I run off at the mouth." I thought about what he had said and what an interesting way this was to start off a day headed to a conference that would take up professionalism and the image of lawyers as a core topic.

Same day. United flight 1236 to Chicago. Changing Lanes with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson was the featured movie on this flight. A scene shows a smartly dressed, attractive younger woman lunching at an upscale restaurant with her Wall Street lawyer husband. He tells her of a conversation with the senior and founding partner of the firm, who happens to be his wife's father. She shares with her husband a confidence: "Did you know my father has cheated on my mother for over 20 years?" Her husband reacts with genuine surprise and shock. She reacts: "Why should you be so surprised — you work with people who cheat all the time for a living." I was beginning to think the gods had picked me out of a line-up so they would have an audience to hurl their indignities at.

Same day. USA Today. I picked up the paper and there was a lead article by Tony Mauro: "Cross-Trained Lawyers Ride to the Rescue." The article talked about the ABA meeting in Washington, D.C., and an ABA survey that found the legal profession ranked eighth out of nine in public esteem and confidence (only the news media ranked lower). Three-quarters of Americans surveyed agreed with the statement that lawyers are more interested in winning than in serving justice. But then the article turned the corner to point out how lawyers in this country, starting with John Adams, had been called by their countrymen to nonlawyer public-service jobs in every walk of life. The news account was persuasive: many, many lawyers do believe that their calling is first to serve the public — their clients.

All of this happened in one day — a kind of microcosm of public perception of lawyers. We struggle to try to convince the public that we genuinely seek justice, that we strive to serve the needs of the public — all in a highly ethical and professional manner. And while I believe that there is much that can be done to enhance the public perception of lawyers and the professionalism of lawyers (more about that later), we must not forget that the most visible activity of our profession — namely litigation of every kind, civil and criminal — of necessity creates controversy. John Adams found this out when he defended the British troops who had killed citizens in Boston in a peacetime confrontation between the two groups. And even though the British were acquitted by a jury of their peers — and no doubt the advocacy of John Adams — the public came down on him with a vengeance: he very nearly lost most of his private law practice. It took him years to rebuild it. This is the kind of price many lawyers pay and will continue to pay as a cost of belonging to the profession and doing what is right. No amount of public relations can or will ever completely ameliorate a perception that is less than friendly. But we need to listen to the cab driver, to the Wall Street lawyer's wife, and to USA Today, because there are steps that can be taken to help lawyers be more professional, and the public to better understand what we are about.

In the coming year, the Bar will form a group to deal with the professional development of lawyers. Your Bar will be asked to look at the entire process of the education, admission and orientation of new lawyers in Washington starting even before they enter law school. Working with the deans of the three law schools in this state, we will review the process of education and how to help lawyers-to-be to interview and communicate with clients and to acquire work skills that are not a part of any regular law-school curriculum. All the law schools have legal clinics, but none of the clinics has the capacity to assist all students who plan to enter a private or public-interest practice with these much-needed skills. Interestingly, we are probably the only country in the Western world that does not require some kind of apprenticeship before admitting lawyers to practice. Canada has its minimum 12-month program of "articling," in which a lawyer works much like a law clerk for a qualified supervising lawyer. Great Britain requires an even longer tenure. (As I write, the WSBA Young Lawyers Division has already recommended that all lawyers in the first year of their admission receive an extra dose of CLE.)

A new committee has been formed by the Board of Governors to deal with the student-loan crisis which has led to more than two-thirds of newly admitted lawyers each year having a student-loan debt in excess of $80,000. The consequences of this crisis are enormous: most new lawyers cannot afford to work in the public sector (e.g., public defender, prosecuting attorney's office, civil legal services for those who are indigent and low-income, other public agencies, and so forth). What this means is that many are compelled to seek better-paying positions even though that may be contrary to their preferences and ideals.

Our profession (a profession of achievers) has an incidence of alcoholism and drug abuse that affects between five and 10 percent of our members, which, not surprisingly, often leads to victimization of clients and Bar discipline. None of this is good for the image of lawyers. We must continue to protect the public from such lawyers. But we must also stop treating victimless substance-abuse as a crime and start approaching it for what it is: an addictive disease. Because our courts have been overwhelmed by drug cases, most of which do not involve harm to others, I anticipate that the Board of Governors will continue to support the efforts initiated by the King County Bar Association in drug-policy reform. In so many cases, public funds should be shifted from corrections to treatment and education. This year, the Legislature made a first step in this direction; we need to support further implementation.

If we are to stay in touch with public needs and attitudes toward our profession, then we need to listen to the public. I am going to ask the Board of Governors to begin the process of having at least one nonlawyer serve as a public member with the governors. We can never improve our image or ourselves unless we listen to valid criticism.

And, finally, we will inform the public of our goals and our accomplishments. The WSBA will spend several million dollars in upgrading its information technology system. The WSBA Web site will be redesigned to make it more user-friendly to lawyers and the public. We will continue to emphasize the excellent programs created by Past-President Jan Eric Peterson ("Proud to Be a Lawyer") and further implemented by President Dale Carlisle to educate the public about what lawyers do and why.

Last but not least, I am grateful to outgoing President Dale Carlisle for the privilege of serving under him this last year. His strong focus on member benefits has been accompanied by total dedication, incredible attention to detail, and tireless energy. His is a remarkable role model.

Dick Manning's e-mail address is jmb@seanet.com; telephone 206-623-6302; fax 206-624-3865. Send him your questions or comments.