The County Courthouse No Longer Looms Over the Community

Abstract

The title of this Article may be mysterious, but only because it is a metaphor. The subject of my Article is actually professionalism and professional ethics in the practice of law. My theme is that our contemporary concepts of professionalism and professional ethics are based upon an obsolete image of society, one that contrasts with the social context in which the practice of law is now conducted. This obsolete image is widely shared by senior members of the profession, who may have actually experienced the old style of practice, and by many younger ones. Enraptured by this image, we keep harking back to earlier times for solutions, or at least amelioration of, what we describe as the erosion of professionalism, particularly "civility." I do not dispute that there has been change of the relationships referred to by the term civility. However, the important question is the nature of that change. My purpose is to direct attention to the social condition in which "professionalism" must now be nurtured. The modern condition is an impersonal, highly competitive environment.