August 2008
10 Tips Toward Professional Behavior
In the Courtroom and Out
by Judge Ellen Kalama Clark
I know what you're thinking professionalism? Again? Haven't we been through this enough? I'll make you a deal. I'm not going to talk about the Rules of Professional Conduct, or the Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct, or the WSBA Creed of Professionalism. Professionalism is basically behavior, conduct, and attitude. What you do affects the public's impression of us. Lawyers once were respected and honored that's not so much anymore.
Let's focus on two questions: How do you want to be treated by the professionals in your life, and how should we as professional lawyers treat others? Try some role reversal. Put yourself in the place of your client. Get up and walk around your desk and sit in the client's chair. Imagine yourself meeting with your doctor, the architect designing your house, or your investment counselor. What do you expect from that person?
Treat others as you would like to be treated. Here are 10 tips.
1. Be courteous and treat others with respect.
Let's say you're watching a televised debate between two candidates running for public office. One talks about her qualifications, addresses issues and ideas, and politely but firmly points out the problems in her opponent's policies. The other resorts to name-calling, innuendo, and personal attacks. Which candidate do you want representing you and making decisions about the future?
The following happened in my courtroom earlier this year a motion for summary judgment. Responding party files responses late, no question about it. Moving party asks to strike the response. Responding party acknowledges the lateness of the documents, no excuses, asks for a continuance and offers to pay terms/fees to the moving party. Offers to pay. He's accepting responsibility, not blaming others, and trying to compensate for having caused a problem for the other side. So I grant the continuance and ask the first attorney for a suggestion as to his costs and fees. The story gets even better because the attorney for the moving party says: "Your Honor, I don't want any terms. That wouldn't be very collegial." I don't think many lawyers would have taken that step. I greatly admire that attorney for his professionalism.
2. Be on time.
Don't you just hate it when you sit in the doctor's waiting room for an hour? Your time is valuable and you have other things to do. So do the people you deal with as a lawyer. Think of how many people that involves: Not just your client but the other party, the other attorney, the judicial officer and court staff in your case, and the people in the next case.
3. Be competent, knowledgeable, and prepared.
If you went to an accountant who was using a tax code book from 1998, who said, "Oh yeah, there probably have been some changes, but this is the right basic stuff," you'd go somewhere else. From where I sit, I see the look on your client's face and his reaction when you start referring to the children when they have no children. Or you say they've been married for six years when it's really been 35. You have a lot of cases, there are lots of details, and it's easy to get mixed up. But your clients lose confidence in you when you forget the details and haven't prepared.
4. Be up front about your bill.
Have you ever received a bill from a stay in the hospital, where they charge you for every little Q-tip and include countless unexplained charges? Isn't that confusing and irritating? Charging reasonable fees and clearly explaining your bills is important to you and your clients. Don't run up bills with unnecessary costs, and be sure you explain each cost so the client can understand it.
5. Solve the problem.
When you go to someone else for help, you want him to solve the problem, whether it's a medical condition, your car not working, or a hole in your roof. Address an issue when it first comes up, rather than putting it off. It is entirely professional to say: "I don't know. I'll have to check and get back to you." And make sure you do.
6. Keep your client advised of what's happening.
If people don't know what's going on, they get frightened and nervous and imagine the worst. Say you have a medical procedure. You were told you'd get the results in two or three days and a week goes by and you've heard nothing. You would think, "Oh my God, they don't want to tell me the bad news, I must be dying." Let your client know she's not dying! Send copies of pleadings, return phone calls, and inform her of all court decisions.
One morning a couple of months ago, I had six criminal motions to hear. I took the files home the night before, read them, and was ready to go at 9 a.m. At about 8:50, an intern from one of the attorneys' offices came in and told my JA that both attorneys had to be in federal court, so that motion was being stricken. They didn't know before that morning that they had this conflict? Of course, it was the file with the most reading and most complicated issues, and I had spent the most time with it. The prosecutor showed up and wasn't told either. We were both rather annoyed, but we couldn't take it out on the poor intern. I heard the other motions, finished around 11:45, and got ready to leave the bench. A young man who had been in the courtroom all morning stood up, gave me his name, and asked about his motion. He was the client of the attorneys who had stricken the motion they hadn't even told their own client that they weren't going to be arguing the motion!
7. Be honest.
Tell the truth, even if it's not what the client wants to hear. If you tell people only what you think they want to hear, it usually backfires.
8. Do what you said you'd do.
9. Look the part.
The world has become much more casual casual Fridays have given way to a more relaxed appearance just about every day. Your office practice is up to you (although I might suggest that people feel better about paying you a big retainer, or $300 per hour, if you look like a lawyer), but once you come into court, remember it is still a place of rules and formality. Men have it pretty easy coat and tie. Women have a lot more choices. This has been an issue for me and my colleagues. Are women attorneys required to wear jackets? Are short sleeves okay? When is a blouse too low-cut, and should you bring that to someone's attention? (I will be the first to admit I have no fashion sense, but since I get to wear a lovely black robe, I have it pretty easy.) If you went to the dentist and instead of one of those clean, crisp lab coats the dentist wore a T-shirt saying "Bite me" and raggedy shorts you would think twice about letting him stick his hand in your mouth.
10. Explain things in understandable terms.
If your auto mechanic tells you, "Your OBD2 is throwing a P430 code," you're probably just going to be baffled. So if you tell your client, "We have to set a show cause and move the court for vacation of the decree pursuant to CR 60(b)(9)," he probably won't get it either. He'll be thinking, "What? I just hired this lawyer and she's already talking about vacations?" Try, "We have to go to court and ask the judge to throw out the divorce orders your spouse had the judge sign because you were in ICU after having suffered a massive heart attack and couldn't get back to Spokane to respond to the case."
The impression you give with your words and actions affects your reputation. Your reputation is all you have, and once it's set it's hard to change. Most importantly, clients talk, and they remember things. If you want to be well-respected and remembered in a positive way, be professional.
Judge Ellen Kalama Clark graduated from the Gonzaga University School of Law in 1982. She has served as a judicial officer on the Spokane County Superior Court bench for 15 years, as a court commissioner from 1993 to 1999, and as a judge since 1999.
