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I listened to a conversation between a retired judge and a successful and highly paid member of a prominent law firm. The judge advocated adherence to traditional professional ethics and standards, which might mean refusal to represent a wealthy client with no standards, no conscience. The lawyer wanted to agree but felt that the demands of modern life required him to represent everyone who was willing to pay. The judge believed that we all owe a duty to society to encourage good behavior, to refuse to deal with people without high standards, to subordinate money to ethics.
Thirty years ago I would have been shocked by the lawyer's arguments but, sadly, I wasn't surprised, I have almost come to expect the lawyer's response. We live in a time when many people judge everything and everybody by money, when many people are willing to abandon ethics, standards, codes of conduct if the abandonment will be profitable. People who a short time ago valued honor above all else have now convinced themselves that dollars justify all, that the old codes are outmoded, passe, relics of a slower and less demanding time. I am one (of the few?) who believe that lawyers, perhaps more than anyone else, owe a duty to society to live by the rules, to uphold standards of honor, to place the need for ethical conduct above everything, including money.
Society demands trust: If we have to move through life always looking over our shoulders, always fearing betrayal, life will be unbearable. The traditional virtues of honor, duty, selflessness, are not simply to make us feel better, they enable the people around us to live their lives with confidence. They make society work more efficiently and more pleasantly by allowing everyone to pursue goals without cynicism. They are the essential elements of society. Both personal and commercial interactions depend on our willingness to trust, our willingness to believe that the other party to transactions will not be motivated by money or other causes to abandon their part, to violate the stated and unstated terms of the transaction. Without honor, we won't want to interact with others and our lives will be isolated, barricaded..
Money gained without adherence to standards, money gained by violating the trust of others is not worth having. When even lawyers are willing to accept payment from dishonorable people, our society will begin to break down. When any significant number of people place dollars ahead of ethics our society will begin to collapse. Live up to standards and society will thrive.
2-7-00
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