UMLawyer

Judges, attorneys tell law students to be nice

As first-year law students at UMtook their initial steps toward legal careers, attorneys and judges cautioned them to uphold and improve levels of professionalism in the legal profession.

A group of about 60 attorneys and judges gathered on the Oxford in the fall to encourage the entering class of 192 law students to leave behind the television stereotypes of quick-witted, fast-talking attorneys and opt for civility and respect.

“Collegiality is an absolute must for you to function and be successful as a lawyer,” said James W. Smith Jr., Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. “Be careful what you say because it’s hard to take words back.”

Smith, who delivered the keynote address during the daylong professionalism program, advised the aspiring attorneys to check their attitudes and avoid the Rambo approach of “get the other guy before he gets me.”

The program is sponsored by the Mississippi Bar and was implemented in the 1990s after judges and attorneys across the state noticed a decline in professionalism among their peers.

“Why would any lawyer who’s trying to persuade and convince any judge cross that line of respect?” Smith asked, challenging law students to avoid loaded words in their arguments. “Don’t compare your opponent to Hitler, the devil or terrorists. Remember there’ll be another day, another trial. The shoe may be on the other foot.”

The program, which was also conducted at Mississippi College School of Law, is named for James O. Dukes, a former president of the Mississippi Bar who served as chair of its professionalism committee.

“Most lawyers would say civility in the practice of law is not what it once was,” said Larry Houchins, executive director of the Mississippi Bar. “The more lawyers you have, the more impersonal the practice becomes.”

With about 6,500 attorneys in the state, it’s impossible for everybody to know each other, Houchins said. “It’s good to have top lawyers interact with students and plant the seeds of professional conduct. To be the best doesn’t mean you have to be the biggest and baddest.”

—Natashia Gregoire