AB INITIO - THE BIRTH OF A LAW SCHOOL

We need to say it again! "It is hard to see a higher calling than one which attemps to stem the decline of the legal profession, restore it to its former status and educate it to maintain its traditional role in upholding justice." (Professor Anthony Santoro, as stated in the University of St. Thomas feasibility study.)

There is little doubt about the fact that the legal profession, and to some extent the legal system, is in crisis. Yale Law Dean Anthony Kronman writes in The Lost Lawyer; Failing Ideals of the Legal Profession,

This crisis has been brought about by the demise of an older set of values that until quite recently played a vital role in defining the aspirations of American lawyers. At the very center of these values was the belief that the outstanding lawyer – the one who serves as a model for the rest – is not simply an accomplished technician but a person of prudence or practical wisdom as well.

Dean Kronman speaks of "character-virtue," work that has intrinsic value, and the "ideal of the lawyer-statesman." He states that in the last generation this ideal "has collapsed."

Echoing much of the same themes as Dean Kronman, Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon, in her book A Nation Under Lawyers; How the Crisis in the Legal Profession is Transforming American Society, adds to the discussion of the transformation of lawyers' beliefs. She writes

Several radical propositions that were once but minor tributaries or countercurrents have achieved respectability and prominence, if not dominance, in mainstream legal culture; that we live under a rule of men, not law; that the Constitution is just an old text that means whatever the current crop of judges says it does; that all rules (including rules of professional ethics) are infinitely manipulable; that law is a business like any other, and that business is just the unrestrained pursuit of self-interest.

A number of law practitioners experience a different facet of the "crisis" – a kind of burnout. Some lawyers express dissatisfaction with their lifestyles. Their professional obligations compete for their personal time and family attention. Partners complain that associates are overpaid, while associates say that they are overworked and the subjects of extreme pressures to increase "billable hours." Still others are leaving practice or changing their roles, citing various increased pressures or simply a concern about whether this professional life is a worthwhile pursuit.

Although the theories of academics and the condemnations of some practitioners are significant criticisms of some people in today's profession, perhaps the harshest indictment of today's legal profession lies in public perception. Many non-lawyer members of the public express a high opinion of their own lawyer and of their lawyer friends and relatives, but have total disrespect for other lawyers. Of course, it comes as no surprise that members of a profession that is often in the middle of public controversy are subject to widespread abuse and criticism. However, the lack of trust in lawyers seems to be more deeply rooted. Comedians joke about it, but the growing number of other critics so threatens trust in the legal system, that this has ceased to be a laughing matter. Critics cite a number of concerns: "lawyers are greedy – more interested in money than justice; lawyers are nothing more than mouthpieces for their clients' whims;" and "lawyers are unethical manipulators who will use every technicality and 'trick-in-the-box' to advance often unmeritorious claims or defenses."

While there are undoubtedly some lawyers who deserve the negative image outlined above, it is my experience that those disreputable characters are in the minority. The vast majority of lawyers are decent people who engage in honorable and ethical practices. However, perception of defect is often more damaging than the reality. This is clearly the case with attorneys. The quips of the jokesters and the misconceptions of some critics cause an increasing segment of the public to mistrust lawyers and question the integrity of the entire legal system and the rule of law.

Demise of professionalism, loss of lawyer satisfaction, public mistrust – the feasibility study challenges the University of St. Thomas School of Law to design a program that will contribute to solving this "three-headed" crisis. Therefore, initial university planning developed a set of goals now referred to as the "CLICIR" plan. CLICIR is an acronym that outlines the St. Thomas Law School plan as "Catholic, Leadership, Interdisciplinary, Community, International and Ready". All of these six attributes, in varying degrees, are responsive to the crisis in the legal profession and each will be described fully in subsequent articles in this series. However, I will begin with a concentration on the leadership goal.

In its efforts to help restore the legal profession to its former status, the University of St. Thomas School of Law has designed a program to train the future moral leadership. Pursuing this goal will involve many aspects of the law school operation. First of all, it will mean that a different type of student will be recruited and enrolled. A demonstrated commitment to leadership potential and values will play a stronger role in determining acceptance. Although high quality academic work (LSAT and GPA) will continue to be an important role in admissions, we will be more deliberate in focusing our recruiting efforts on candidates who have been involved in value-oriented activities and leadership roles. Having these credentials will give them an "edge" over other applicants.

The leadership goal will also mean hiring an especially talented faculty who are not only top-level teachers and scholars but who are themselves moral leaders and role models. Most importantly, these specially selected students and faculty will be involved in a challenging program. This will include a rigorous academic program that will assure the highest level of competency. As one of my great role models, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, once said, "Compassion without competency would be a cruel hoax on those whom (attorneys) serve."

Perhaps the heart of the strategy for the values leadership goal is the design of the formation program. While the University of St. Thomas School of Law intends to inspire "first-class" teaching, training, and education, that will not be enough. The School of Law will go beyond intellectual and professional formation to include social, cultural, and spiritual formation. The word "formation" is used advisably here. While the word is often used in connection with seminaries, it is most appropriate to a law school that intends to help in the development of holistic lawyers. St. Thomas will follow that old adage, "If one wants to become a good lawyer, he or she must first become a good person."

If you wonder how St. Thomas will pursue this leadership goal or if you are curious about other goals in our "CLICIR" plan, "tune in" to the future installments in this series.

David T. Link
Dean
University of St. Thomas School of Law
posted June 7, 2000

For more information please contact:

University of St. Thomas School of Law
MPL 440
1000 LaSalle Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403

E-mail: Lawschool@stthomas.edu
Web: http://www.stthomas.edu/lawschool

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Discussion

• A law school is still an organization that increases the supply of lawyers. Increasing the supply of lawyers will cause more of the problems that you identify, such as greater unprofessionalism, competition for clients, new lawyers (because of student loan debt) seeking the highest-paying positions they can find. Lawyers, on the whole, try to be ethical. Why don't you focus on business ethics (see, e.g. U.S. v. Microsoft)?

  Name withheld