From Our Readers

• Publication year: 1987
• Pages: 2178
• Citation: Vol. 15 No. 9 Pg. 2178

15 Colo.Law. 2178 Colorado Lawyer 1987.

1987, December, Pg. 2178. From Our Readers

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Vol. 15, No. 9, Pg. 2178

From Our Readers

As a long-time practitioner in Intellectual Property Law, the primary thing I have learned is that the more I have learned, the more I learn how much I don't know.

On reading Rita Mitchell's article [October, p. 1859], it occurred to me that her discussion about good marketing focused very much on things that I, for years, have been trying to teach clients in terms of building goodwill identification for a new product or service by means of a good trademark. Those that market best, whatever the goods or services, are those that survive and grow.

Then, after I had read the article, I reflected upon the parallel suggestions for law practice. Suddenly, it reoccurred to me that the lawyer has become nothing more than another trade. He is like a client's repairman who, hopefully, will not only fix that which is wrong but also warn the customer about what has to be done to prevent future difficulties. The conclusion has to be that the practice of law has become nothing more than one more trade. I hasten to reaffirm that I admire those who well perform their trade. Many of them have been my best-paying customers.

I write to ask this question. Since we have become a trade, why do we still need all of those copious and odious rules and regulations concerning "professional responsibility." Let's face it! This is no longer a "profession."

One of my grandfathers was a medical doctor. The other was a lawyer. My father and his brother also were lawyers.

Those men were professionals. As such, all that they needed for a guideline was a simple pamphlet called the "Canons of Ethics."

With that background, it sure was a surprise...