BarTalk June 1999
Volume 11, Number 3

by Holly J Lindsey

We speak of a tarnished professional image, yet what is an image but a reflection of what is placed before it.

We’ve all heard a lot over the last couple of years about the increasingly tarnished image of our profession. It is virtually impossible to ignore the barbs directed overtly in terms of lawyer bashing articles and negatively slanted media reports and covertly, in the guise of humor and jokes that we are expected to laugh at. Unfortunately, many of us are too involved in making a living to have the extra energy needed to address this problem of our image. Regrettably, the problem does not simply go away because we cannot take the time to address it and we all pay the price.

I recently had an unexpected opportunity to see first hand the “ripple in the pond” effect of one counsel’s momentary lapse in judgment. While on a business trip down to the lower mainland, I found myself in the lobby of the courthouse on Smithe. I was comfortably seated with a book awaiting a friend joining me for lunch. Abruptly, my attention was caught by a large group entering from court. There was one counsel and six or seven others, all obviously upset about whatever had taken place in the courtroom. I could not fail to overhear the commentary made by my colleague. His loud and angry words were directed at the antics of opposing counsel in court. In his tirade, he told his entourage that the other counsel had lied to the court, that the other counsel was unscrupulous and “crooked” and was actually generally known to be so. This was accepted eagerly by his audience. The incident took only moments and counsel was off to other obligations. He “vented” and was gone. Some of his party met another person in the lobby and began to tell the newly arrived party of the comments of the lawyer, and the tale continued as they were leaving.

Strangely, I found myself embarrassed for my rather feckless colleague. The behavior of my friend was hardly professional conduct, but the next question was: What were my own obligations in respect of what I had seen and heard?

Over lunch, the idea for this article was born. In the course of professional practice counsel often suffer frustration and anger in daily dealings with other lawyers. However, as professionals we have an appropriate forum for dealing with unprofessional conduct of colleagues, and as professionals we are each of us individually and collectively responsible for the image that we present to our clients. The unidentified counsel who had vented for just a moment or two never saw or noticed his client and “friends” take up the same comments and repeat them, nor did he hear it spread within the wake of his departure.

We speak of a tarnished professional image, yet what is an image but a reflection of what is placed before it. Remember, the mirror reflects only what it sees. We can affect public perception by simply watching our own professionalism and behaving at all times in public with the decorum and dignity that our profession has in the past been known for. The larger organizations in the profession such as the CBA and the Law Society do what they can to foster professionalism, and take a leadership role in trying to provide us with the tools and supports that we need to face this problem. However, the negative image of our profession has to be attacked on the micro level as well. Each of us bears an unavoidable individual responsibility. It takes no time to remember to be civil and to not attack a colleague in public regardless of tactics or circumstances. Client relations and perspectives are directly affected by the relationships between counsel, and we do neither our clients nor our selves any good by taking up the clients’ interests to the detriment of professional considerations.

Holly J Lindsey is the managing partner at Lindsey & Grueger of Terrace.

This article was published in the June 1999 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.