2010 KCMBA President Thomas V. Bender

There's a Lawyer Passing

Surely you have read the story or seen the movie, To Kill a Mockingbird. You may have even gone to law school because of it. Harper Lee’s storytelling is powerful enough, but combined with Gregory Peck’s movie depiction of Atticus Finch—the images are unforgettable. I was recently reminded of just how powerful those images are.

At the KCMBA Bench-Bar & Boardroom Conference just concluded at The Lodge of Four Seasons, Governor Nixon reminded us of the historical nobility of our profession but observed how the public perception of attorneys has fallen in recent years. Though this unfavorable perception is generally unwarranted, it is ubiquituous, and in order to change it, Governor Nixon suggested we start from within. The Governor closed his comments with a reading from To Kill a Mockingbird, painting a picture of the stillness in the courtroom after Tom Robinson was convicted. Atticus Finch ordered the record for appeal, closed his briefcase, and took the oh-so-long walk out of the courtroom in which his client was unfairly convicted. The upper galley, silent but supportive, rose out of respect for Atticus Finch as Reverend Sykes reminded Scout to do the same for her father, a lawyer, as he exited the courtroom:

“Jean Louise. Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s [a lawyer is] passing.”

Governor Nixon challenged us to lead our professional lives in a way that will cause others to once again show respect when there’s “a lawyer passing.”

I thought the Governor’s speech was inspirational. We need to be reminded of the nobility and often heroic nature of what we do, and he did that simply and powerfully. (Granted, I may have cheapened the moment by thereafter announcing the location of the hospitality suite and suggesting it would be better to hear that night that “a lawyer is passing” rather than “a lawyer is passing out,” but I felt better about being a lawyer after hearing the speech). I appreciate Governor Nixon reminding us of the good that we do as attorneys and challenging us to do even better. We need those reminders and that encouragement.

Let’s face it – we don’t do a very good job of inspiring each other. Part of it is the nature of the beast. In our practices, we often are in adversarial positions, so from the start, half of those involved in the process aren’t thrilled with us. Even our own clients, who may have just suffered a significant injury, bankruptcy, the loss of a loved one, a failed business or a criminal charge, are sufficiently displeased with the message—that it’s hard to heap praise on the messenger. Add to this cauldron the competitiveness of our profession and there is often an inability to genuinely praise someone else’s success, with instead the often- heard grumble: “Why wasn’t that me?” In short, this is often a hard profession in which to get positive reinforcement. 

Let’s take to heart the message of Governor Nixon, a fellow attorney, and work to improve our profession from within. It would be great to work on ourselves to become better and more ethical lawyers, and if we would all do that, nothing would do more to help our image. But I realize that advertising a self-improvement regimen might, like the P90X or Hip Hop Abs ads on television, lead to an immediate “changing of the channel.” However, while our own practices may be hard to address, we can in other, easier ways still make improvements to the image of the legal profession by providing reinforcement and encouragement to other attorneys. We can help other attorneys do better and feel better about themselves.

Inspire Attorneys Outside Your Firm
When you hear that one of your fellow lawyers has done something admirable or well, send a short note or e-mail to let her or him know. (While there’s no substitute for a handwritten note, it’s better to send the e-mail than to never send a note at all). Today send an e-mail to someone outside your firm who has done one of the following:

• Received an award or had a significant legal accomplishment.
• Taken the time and effort to run for office, for the school board or other public service.
• Taken a Voluntary Attorney Project case, pro bono assignment, or other charitable work.
• Just plain nice person stuff: acknowledge the good deeds of our colleagues, whether or not done as a lawyer (because people generally know they are a lawyer and they are indirectly helping the profession). Let them know you noticed.
• Extended you courtesies as opposing counsel (e.g. by consenting to your request for additional time to answer discovery, or to a stipulation for foundation of documents, or to a suggested approach to resolving a business dispute).

Inspire People Within Your Firm
Don’t overlook people within your firm; your kind words will mean all the more to them.

• Younger lawyers need to be praised as much or more than they need to be criticized. More than 90 years ago, Dale Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People and noted that criticism does little to encourage good performance. That still rings true. Find something that a young lawyer is doing that exemplifies the best of our profession, and let them know. 
• Those non-attorneys who are involved in the profession: “nice job answering the phones…we get lots of compliments from our clients” or “thanks for making sure we met that deadline” or “thank you for not embezzling anything this year…” Find something to recognize or encourage and do it often—you can never do enough.
• While this may seem self-serving, remember that older lawyers need to be praised just as much as younger lawyers. We all work best off of positive reinforcement, and frankly, there just is not enough of it any more. Trial lawyers are lucky if they are able to use their skills once or twice a year. As a result, confidence is lacking, and positive feedback from colleagues and particularly judges goes a long way. So if you see something an attorney is doing well, tell them. It makes no difference if you are a judge, co-counsel or a younger associate (though in the latter case you may be seen as the suck up you actually are, but as Richard Gere said to the clothing salesman in Pretty Woman, “I think we need some major sucking up.”) I think effusive praise is underrated; we are so good at the sarcasm, the occasional barb or the dry criticism that we forget how helpful it is to hear a kind word or receive a sincere pat on the back.

I’ll start. Today I am extending a pat on the back to the following individuals who make me feel proud about our legal community:

• One for Governor Nixon, for taking the time to speak with us after a grueling day and to not just    

      “dial it in,” but to instead give a thoughtful and inspirational speech.

• More for Pro bono award recipients Tom Roszak and Amanda Smith, who received the Robert Welch Voluntary Attorney Project Award and Bryan Cave for the ABA Pro Bono Award—they make us all look good by their commitment to others.
• Still more pats for our fellow attorneys from the KCMBA, who currently sacrifice so much to serve in the legislature: former KCMBA member and now U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, and current KCMBA Members Jolie Justus, Matt Bartle, Jason Grill, Jason Kander, Tim Flook, Mike Talboy, Bryan Pratt, John P. Burnett and John Vratil—as well as those who have served in the past—would likewise appreciate a kind word once in a while. Whether or not you agree with their political stances, let’s recognize their dedication and sacrifice for all of us.
• A “thank you” to the Honorable Fernando J. Gaitan for his ongoing work to help educate the public on the importance of the third branch of government.
• Additional pats for those who help with Heart of America Stand Down: Brent Lagergren, Coult deVries, and others providing help to our veterans who need a fresh start.
• Gratitude to the Honorable W. Brent Powell and the Honorable Robert E. Larsen for their dedication to programs that enhance the work of trial lawyers.
• Pats on the back for our new judges, who took the time and endured the process, and many times faced rejection—to likely take a pay cut so that they could advance the administration of justice. I also want to acknowledge those who applied for a judgeship but weren’t chosen; it takes guts to go through that process.
• Encouragement and thanks to Joseph Cambiano for his dedication to a quality fee dispute oversight program.
• A big pat for Jim Wyrsch and Dean Suni: It is apparent to me these attorneys love and respect the law, and they do everything they can do to help younger…and older...attorneys do a better job through their constant participation in teaching and legal education.
• And a pat to Judge Michael Manners for allowing Gold E. Locks to face trial on a frequent and regular basis in a program designed to help introduce young boys and girls to the Rule of Law and courtroom procedures.

That’s just my list du jour; it grows daily. And I would love to add to it, so let me or the KCMBA know if there is someone in the legal profession whom you think warrants praise for a professional or personal accomplishment. We’ll do what we can to get them appropriate recognition.

If we can encourage each other to keep doing the good things, it might be infectious and encourage others to do the same. Little by little, we can continue to improve our image and restore a once favorable perception of our profession. Even if we don’t, those we encourage and we ourselves will be the better for the effort.

Enjoy the summer. It, too, is passing…much too quickly.