Professionalism: an Update of the Cba Committee's Work

• Publication year: 1993
• Pages: 241
• Citation: Vol. 22 No. 2 Pg. 241

22 Colo.Law. 241 Colorado Lawyer 1993.

1993, February, Pg. 241. Professionalism: An Update of the CBA Committee's Work

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241

Vol. 22, No. 2, Pg. 241

Professionalism: An Update of the CBA Committee's Work

Introduction

by E. Gregory Martin

Professionalism---or the lack of it---remains one of the primary concerns of judges and lawyers in Colorado, as well as in the rest of the country. Since the CBA Professionalism Committee was established as a standing committee in 1991, there has been a growing interest in its work. This is evidenced by the fact that during the past two years, the number of CBA members choosing this committee as first choice of committee assignment has almost doubled.

The Professionalism Committee continues to function through eight subcommittees. The various subcommittees have worked throughout the past two years to accomplish specific goals set forth in the CBA Professionalism Task Force Report, excerpts of which were published in a special issue on professionalism in June 1991.(fn1) This article serves as an update to the 1991 special issue. The subcommittees will continue to work on issues of concern to the bar.

The Advertising Subcommittee, for example, has been concerned with "unprofessional" advertising and will study steps that may be taken to prevent some practices which may constitute misrepresentation and which are distasteful to both the profession and the public. The Community Service Subcommittee, which was just recently established, will work on increasing and improving the profession's contribution to community service. The Fees and Billing Practices Subcommittee is attempting to raise funds to conduct a statewide study through focus groups involving consumers of legal services to elicit input regarding fees charged by the legal profession. The Law Schools / Legal Education Subcommittee will focus on changes that should be made in the law school curriculum to instill a sense of professionalism in law students and what preparation should be required of entering law students. The Legal Systems Dynamics Subcommittee has been and will continue to explore the impact that the adversary system has on professionalism. Some of the subcommittee recommendations which have already been adopted by either the Colorado Supreme Court or the CBA Board of Governors are:

1) A rule adding professionalism as a part of the multistate portion of the bar exam;

2) The appointment of a Supreme Court ad hoc committee to examine...