Sneaking in professional responsibility in my Contracts course

Last week, for the first time since I became a lawyer, I filed an ethics complaint against another lawyer.  It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done (and I’ve done some doozies).  Afterwards, I talked about the process and the reasons why I filed the complaint to my first-year students.

It was interesting to see their reactions.  We spoke about the need to return clients’ phone calls promptly, and we spoke about why, when a lawyer says she’s going to do X if Y doesn’t happen, she has to follow through on that promise.

I spend a lot of time talking about the practice of law with my students (and not just in my PR course).  I don’t want them to get the idea that PR is something that one takes in law school and only thinks about during the course, and I want them to think about the challenges that they’ll face as lawyers.

Will the state bar do anything about the complaint that I filed?  I don’t know.  But watching the process from this close up will be an education for me.

(Posted by Nancy Rapoport)