“We always have a choice” Sue Richards, the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four said during a confrontation with the good natured (I guess women have that inherent ability called “empathy” that most men seem to lack) but corrupted Silver Surfer in questioning his motive in helping the uber villain Galactus in consuming the planet. Sometimes our positions, personality and abilities put us into a predicament; because others would want to exploit us to further their own ends; in the case of lawyers,with the power that they hold they abuse it for their own benefit; whether we like it or not, sometimes we are drawn into conflicts and we don’t know how to deal with it. And we end up saying “I have no choice.”
In this article, the author stated two reasons why people chose to enter into lawyering:
- Honor, prestige and money were the most influential factors that lead them to pursue a career in law.
- The altruistic feeling of being able to help in the administration of justice, which is the foremost responsibility of a lawyer.
It is sad, I could not help but agree that majority choose the first, an apparent and easy choice. While it is the natural to man to choose himself first before others, lawyering being a profession demands that a lawyer should forgo personal interests and face a more pressing responsibility that arises just right after he was declared as such “to help in the administration of justice.” Such responsibility is embodied in the lawyer’s oath and even further expounded in the canon rules of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
CANON 1 – A lawyer shall uphold the constitution, obey the laws of the land and promote respect for law of and legal processes.
The profession of lawyering is also a vocation in itself. Like any other profession, it could not realize its true goals without the guidance of God and the recognition that there are certain morals to follow in the course of practicing law. It should be a lawyer’s responsibility to uphold the dignity in the profession, pursue the cause of justice and promote respect for the rule of law, with God at the center of it all, we can be holy in a “not so-holy” profession. Indeed this profession has already become tainted by a few who chose a different path but it is not yet too late, we always have a choice.
Pursuit of excellence
Canon 5 – A lawyer shall keep abreast of legal developments, participate in continuing legal education programs, support efforts to achieve high standards in law schools as well as in the practical training of law students and assist in disseminating the law and jurisprudence.
Clearly, it is sinful to not pursue excellence in the practice of law. The presence of such provision in the Code of Professional Responsibility clearly underscores the importance of a lawyer’s continuous development that it is not enough to just pass the bar exam to be a lawyer. In the practice of law, the competence of a lawyer could determine protection of the client’s interest and also to ensure that justice is upheld.
Lastly, while life can be short and fleeting let us not fail to realize that each of us contribute something to mankind’s civilization and a lawyer has a bigger opportunity to affect change. Let the change be for the best.
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent van Gogh
Lanuza Pictures by Kage
