Signature Professionalism Cle
| Jurisdiction | Georgia,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 28 No. 5 Pg. 0052 |
| Pages | 0052 |
| Publication year | 2023 |
Signature Professionalism CLE
The Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism sponsored a Signature Professionalism CLE on Feb. 22 at the State Bar of Georgia headquarters in Atlanta.
BY KARLISE Y. GRIER
Sarah B. "Sally" Akins, in her first Georgia Bar Journal article as Bar president, wrote: "I am committed to focusing on the core values of our profession and our ongoing mission to serve the public and the justice system. This includes a renewed commitment to professionalism among the members of the State Bar of Georgia."[1] As part of that commitment, Akins envisioned an in-person continuing legal education program that would revisit the history of the professionalism movement in Georgia and discuss the relevance of professionalism in today's legal practice.
In partnership with the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism, Akins and the Commission held a hybrid Signature Professionalism CLE program on Feb. 22 at the State Bar of Georgia headquarters in Atlanta.[2] The program was attended in person by 139 lawyers and virtually by 249 lawyers.
Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs opened the program with remarks on professionalism. He reminded the audience that with our privilege to practice law comes great responsibility. "It is my hope," he said, "that professionalism will be the cornerstone of your lives and your careers and that you will indeed hold up the highest levels of professionalism in your practices." Akins also made opening remarks. She said one of the goals of the program was to thank the people who helped start the professionalism movement in Georgia and then to look ahead to see what professionalism looks like as we move forward.
Remembering the 1988 Convocation on Professionalism
Moderator
• Justice Andrew A. Pinson, Supreme Court of Georgia
Panelists
• Ronald Edward "Ron" Daniels, managing attorney, Daniels Taylor Law; YLD president
• Associate Dean A. James Elliott, Emory University School of Law
• Lester B. Johnson III, managing attorney, Lester B. Johnson, III, P.C.
• Hon. Connie L. Williford, Macon Judicial Circuit Superior Court
The CLE program began with a panel that discussed a Convocation on Professionalism and the Practice of Law that was held on March 31, 1988, at Emory University.[3]Former State Bar President and former Commission member Associate Dean A. James Elliott opened the panel, which was moderated by Commission Advisor Justice Andrew A. Pinson. Elliott recalled receiving a call inviting him to a meeting with Emory President James T. Laney, Justice Thomas Marshall (who was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia at the time), Justice Harold Clarke and Justice Charles Weltner. These three justices, along with Laney, had decided to hold a convocation that would gather lawyers form around the state of Georgia to discuss professionalism and asked Elliott to assist. Elliott, of course, agreed to help and noted that Justice Weltner and Dr. Michael L. Goldberg had provided much of the thought leadership in organizing the 1988 Convocation. During the 1988 Convocation, Chief Justice Marshall asked attorneys to address three main topics, and the panel recalled the remarks of the 1988 speakers.
Hon. Connie L. Williford, Macon Judicial Circuit Superior Court, discussed comments made by former State Bar President (1974-75) and Macon attorney Cubbedge Snow Jr. Williford shared Snow's thoughts on lawyers' relationships to the courts, and the responsibilities of
lawyers and judges to ensure that the litigation process was both efficient and fair. Snow, she observed, spoke at length about the role of judges in ensuring that the litigation process was free from abuse. In addition, Williford said Snow told lawyers, "From the beginning of a lawyer's career, let him [or her] above all things cultivate truth, simplicity and candor. They are the cardinal virtues of a lawyer." She also noted Snow's comment that the effort for professionalism requires constant striving.
Savannah attorney Lester B. Johnson III recalled the remarks of Hon. G. Conley Ingram, retired Cobb County Superior Court judge and former justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. At the 1988 Convocation, Ingram discussed the lawyers' relationship to clients. Ingram emphasized that the traditional attorney client relationship was based on the integrity, advice and counsel that a lawyer provided to the client—or as Ingram phrased it, pure professionalism versus consumer commercialism. Johnson said Ingram's belief was that when an attorney took an oath, he should feel that he had been entrusted with the legal profession. Johnson also discussed Felker Ward's comments regarding the dearth of diversity in the...
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