Professionalism

In 2002, the American Bar Association commissioned a study of public perceptions of lawyers. The study found that most Americans feel that attorneys are "greedy, manipulative, and corrupt." The study also reported that "of ten different institutions... consumer confidence in the legal profession ranks only above the media." Seventy-four percent (74%) of those surveyed believe that lawyers are more interested in winning than in seeing that justice is served.

The American legal system is adversarial. The emphasis is on winning a case verses determining the truth, so some attorneys feel compelled to argue implausible legal theories and to distort the truth, or even lie, in order to win. The judge’s job is to set aside any personal biases, determine factual reality, and apply the law to the facts of each case.

The majority of attorneys in District 15-B provide their clients with dignified and principled legal representation. Unfortunately, we also have some attorneys who engage in behavior that is "greedy, manipulative, and corrupt." In 2005, due to my concerns about the negative impact this small group of attorneys has on the public and on other attorneys, I spearheaded the creation of a local Professionalism Support Initiative (PSI) in District 15-B for the purpose of promoting civility and respect between lawyers and judges and bolstering public confidence in the legal profession. Now, if an attorney—or judge—acts in an unprofessional manner, you can report the conduct to the District 15-B local bar.

The North Carolina Center for Voter Education reports that eighty-six percent (86%) of North Carolina voters agree that campaign contributions to judges can lead to conflicts of interest. Unlike other candidates, I am not accepting campaign contributions from lawyers who practice in 15-B District Court.

Printed from the Independent Weekly website: www.indyweek.com
POSTED ON MAY 30, 2007:
Letters to the Editor
Protect public from bad lawyers

Jeff Stern's exposé of the implosion of John McCormick's legal career ("In pursuit of John McCormick," cover story, May 16) is a story that needed to be told. Many local attorneys, myself included, had a hunch that all was not well with McCormick's law practice long before he disappeared.

We attorneys do indeed have a tendency to protect each other, as it is often only our colleagues who understand the pressure of performing day after day in an adversarial environment to the satisfaction of our clients, our judges, our colleagues, and, ultimately, the N.C. State Bar. It is easy to become cynical in such a stressful environment, and cynicism inevitably opens the door to the type of unethical behavior McCormick engaged in.

Since last year, I have been urging our local Bar to form a "professionalism support initiative (PSI)" within Judicial District 15-B, which encompasses Orange and Chatham counties. A PSI is a voluntary assistance program handling client-lawyer, lawyer-lawyer, and lawyer-judge issues. Volunteer attorneys and judges are trained to intervene and offer assistance to their peers in a non-confrontational manner after a report has been made regarding the attorney's or judge's unprofessional behavior. As unprofessional behavior often precedes unethical behavior, a local PSI can be the first line of defense in protecting the public from a wayward attorney.

I am pleased that our local Bar recently voted to implement a PSI for the purpose of promoting professionalism and bolstering public confidence in the legal profession. My hope is that it will provide the public and our local attorneys and judges with an avenue for reporting and addressing unprofessional behavior long before it reaches the level of McCormick's conduct. First and foremost, attorneys and judges are public servants and we should be working together to ensure that the citizens of Orange and Chatham counties are not harmed by one of our own.

Betsy J. Wolfenden
Chapel Hill

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Send me an email and tell me about your best court experience or your worst.