Professionalism Page
| Publication year | 2021 |
| Pages | 0070 |
2021 Law School Orientations on Professionalism
The Commission thanks all of the lawyers and judges, including the 138 lawyers and judges who served as group leaders for helping to make the 2021 Law School Orientations on Professionalism a great success!
BY KARLISE Y. GRIER
Each year, the State Bar of Georgia Committee on Professionalism and the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism conduct a professionalism orientation at every law school in Georgia. This year, 2021, marked the 29th year of the program. The orientations are designed to provide incoming 1Ls with their first introduction to professionalism. As part of the orientations, schools also invited distinguished lawyers or judges to provide professionalism remarks during a plenary session and to administer a professionalism or honor code oath to the students.
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Michael Herskowitz, who chairs the State Bar subcommittee that organizes the orientations, explained why he volunteers, "Professionalism in the legal field should be embodied from the first day of law school-onwards. That is why I am proud to serve in a leadership role on the Professionalism Committee and work with new law students throughout the state of Georgia to illustrate the importance of professionalism and integrity in the practice of law," he observed.
Although Chief Justice David E. Nahmias' schedule did not permit him to serve as a 2021 group leader, in a letter to the students he shared: "Over the years, I have enjoyed serving as a group leader at several Professionalism Orientations. I truly believe that judges and lawyers need to emphasize the importance of professionalism to law students from the very start of your legal careers to help you avoid disciplinary issues, but even more to teach that you are part of a professional community. You are now a member of your law school community, and you will eventually be a member of the Bar. You will often interact with one another in stressful, chaotic environments that are designed to be adversarial. But you should never put aside the moral compass that you brought with you to law school or forget that we are all colleagues in a noble profession."
Justice Verda M. Colvin addresses students at the University of Georgia School of Law.
State Bar of Georgia President Elizabeth L. Fite, shared in a letter...
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