Dignity in law: Eleanor Roosevelt, when asked about overcoming insurmountable obstacles in her life in the face of adversity, said, "sometimes you must do the thing you cannot do!"(President's Page).

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Aronovitz, Tod
• Date: 01 July 2002

Do you want to make a difference? Do you really want to make a difference? I enlist your support. Most lawyers and judges are proud of our profession and are dismayed by unwarranted attacks. It's time to draw a line in the sand and to state that we comprise a unique profession and that we won't accept unjustified criticism any longer.

As I write this article, I envision you as a cross-section of our profession from the young lawyer to the most distinguished, seasoned trial judge. From the sole practitioner, the assistant public defender, the tenured law professor, the corporate practitioner, and the tax lawyer to the associate seeking partner status.

We have the talent and the ability to express our message that The Florida Bar seeks to return and heighten the dignity and the stature associated with being a respected counselor at law.

Immediately, the nay sayers and the downtrodden of our profession express their dismay, sigh, shrug their shoulders, and say that lawyers have been the scapegoats of society and refer us to the time of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and feudalism. Not true? The Code of the Babylonian King Hammurabi was thought to be the first and most important codification of law. The Code, established between 1792-1750 B.C., was respected and revered by the citizens of the Babylonian Empire, and...