From friendly banter between legal adversaries during breaks in the courtroom to practicing without bias, professionalism in the law was the subject of discussion for a panel of state and federal judges, lawyers and law school deans who convened for the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law’s recent 25th anniversary program.
The panelists, who represented the various groups that comprise the commission, included New Jersey Supreme Court Associate Justice Barry T. Albin, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson, Rutgers Law School-Newark Co-Dean David Lopez, Rutgers Law School-Camden Co-Dean Kimberly Mutcherson, Seton Hall Law School Dean Kathleen A. Boozang, New Jersey State Bar Association President Kimberly A. Yonta and former commission Executive Director Charles J. Hollenbeck. Commission Chair Karol Corbin Walker moderated the online discussion.
Panelists shared some of their personal experiences with professionalism, or the lack thereof, in and out of the courtroom. Albin recalled a time when he was a young lawyer and opposing counsel shouted expletive-laden questions during a deposition.
“No one looks forward to a contest with a gratuitously nasty adversary who extends no courtesies and explodes into verbal tirades. I’ve never seen that type of unprofessional conduct work to an attorney’s advantage,” he said.
Wolfson said attorneys should explain to their clients that “advocacy and aggression are not synonymous.”
She said that in recent years she has seen attorneys committing more frequent personal attacks in letters, briefings and argument.
“Something’s got to be done about that. I think that’s why it’s really important for us to talk about professionalism,” Wolfson said. She added that judges also should not be intemperate and should follow the rules of civility. The commission recently added Principles of Professionalism for judges.
Being respectful is what creates credibility as a lawyer, Wolfson noted.
“You have to let your client know that that’s what’s important—your credibility before the court,” she said.
Albin also recounted times in his career where behaving respectfully, courteously and fairly made a difference in its trajectory. More than 40 years ago, when was as an assistant prosecutor in Middlesex County, he and Warren Wilentz, a preeminent trial attorney and the opposing counsel in an arson case, struck up a professional relationship of mutual respect and civility. A year-and-a-half later, Wilentz asked him if he would be interested in joining the firm.
“The relationships you form and how you treat people follow you your entire career. You just never know where a professional relationship may lead. You should always keep that in mind [in how] you’re treating a colleague or an adversary,” he said.
Yonta said she’ll never forget the time when she was a young, inexperienced assistant prosecutor trying her first case and the opposing counsel, a more experienced public defender, smoothly and graciously rescued her by preventing a mistrial.
The law school perspective
The participating law school deans noted law schools teach students many things but need the wider legal community to fully turn students into practicing lawyers. Lawyers and judges can help train the next generation of lawyers by modeling professional behavior and teaching through mentorship, internships and clerkships, they explained.
“It’s got to be the case that we as law professors and faculty are working in conjunction with the bar and the courts to create the kinds of lawyers that we want out in the profession,” Mutcherson said.
Boozang said it was important for lawyers to mentor students or new attorneys who are the first in their families to go to college and those “who don’t look like you.” She added that the legal profession needs to “start with humility” and acknowledge everyone has biases and be committed to eliminating practices that result in the treatment of others with bias, through education and training. The commission recently updated the Principles of Professionalism to include the absence of bias as an indispensable ingredient in the practice of law.