Okay, this is an
oldie, but I was reminded of something
from my law school days over this past weekend when my oldest daughter, who is in her second year of
law school, sat for the MPRE, know to the non-lawyer crowd as the Multistate Professional
Responsibility Exam, or, in plain English- the ethics exam.
I can see it as if
yesterday, though it was more like 32 years ago, when, standing in the family
kitchen, I told my non-lawyer brother, nine years my senior, that I was going
to take the MPRE down at the University of Miami. Without so much as a pause, he responded, “What
happens if you pass?”
Even more than three decades ago, questionable
lawyer ethics tainted the profession. I
must say, that after practicing for all these years, it never ceases to amaze
me at the lengths some of my, ugh, I shudder to use the term, “colleagues” and
fellow members of the bar, will go through to circumvent that Code of
Professional Responsibility that each attorney pledges
to adhere to when he/she is sworn into the Bar.
Actually, let’s be real. Many of
my (ugh) “colleagues” don’t even both to try and circumvent these cannons of
ethics; they just downright engage in unethical practices.
Needless to say, I
passed that exam (as one must to become admitted to the Bar) and became a
lawyer. Then again, so did all of the other attorneys who I regularly see
disregard just about any and every cannon of ethic to which we are sworn to subscribe.
So what is going
wrong? First, the MPRE tests whether one
has learned the ethical rules. It does
not measure an individual’s moral barometer as to whether the soon-to-be lawyer
will actually put these rules into
practice. Second, it just seems that too
many lawyers are willing to do anything to “win,” no matter what the cost-and
that becomes their personal moral code. Third,
it is, at least at first blush, easier to break the rules than to follow
them. Some attorneys are just plain
lazy. After all, if you can take a
shortcut and get to the golf course, well….what’s the difference?
Please understand
some of my colleagues are extremely
ethical, moral and honest, and have the highest integrity. As with so many other things in life, it is
those bad apples that ruin the bunch.
Is there a
solution? For one, maybe attorneys
should be required to take an ethics exam after they are admitted to practice at
some predetermined period of time, say every ten years. You know, sort of like a driver’s license re-test. Maybe someone who is tech savvy can develop
an app that does, in fact, measure a person’s ethical barometer. If anyone knows someone who has the technical
know-how, please get them in touch with me.
Beyond that, the
bottom line is ethics cannot be taught to 20 somethings; ethics must be
learned, and if those law students did not learn honesty and integrity from the
playground in their youth, no course is going to teach it now and no exam is
going to test it.
Of course, I am keeping my fingers crossed
that my daughter “passed” the MPRE, but I know doing the right thing was
instilled in her long ago. Like her mom, she won’t “win” every case (and
any lawyer who tells you he does hasn’t been practicing very long); but if she
follows my footsteps into family law,( or really any area of law) then, also
like her mom, she will always try to do
the right thing, and that is always something I can promise my clients. There is no win or amount of money that can
take the place of sleeping at night. So,
to my brother, I say, this is what happens when you pass…32 years later I’m
still doing the right thing, but then again you knew that…we grew up in the
same house.
Cindy Vova
Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.
Plantation, FL 33322
visit our website: www.vovalaw.com
info@vovalaw.com
Cindy Vova
Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.
Plantation, FL 33322
visit our website: www.vovalaw.com
info@vovalaw.com
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