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Professionalism – Show a level of respect to others that you expect reflected back.

By Richard D. White, Jr.

If your experience is similar to mine, one of the most difficult parts of your legal career was the beginning— the time spent as the “young lawyer.”

As a young lawyer, you are probably the least qualified person in the office to do your job. The receptionist knows her job better than you; the legal assistants know more than you. The first legal assistant I worked with once told me she reserved the right to edit and correct my pleadings.

Younglawyersareoftennottakenseriouslybyopposing counsel and, on some occasions, not even by the court. The young lawyer has no track record. He may have naïve and unrealistic ideas as to how our system of justice works.

Youngattorneysareofteninsecureastotheirknowledge and ability. Some may admit they are novices and ask for help. Others overcompensate by being overly aggressive and zealous.

I remember a young associate of mine tasked with a difficult assignment on her very first day. An ex parte child custody order was improperly granted by a judge in another county. I drafted a motion to vacate the order and an order vacating the ex parte order. My associate was to file the motion and present the order to the judge.

She filed the motion and presented the order to the judge expecting he would sign it upon request. He refused. Confident in her position, she explained to the judge he was wrong and should have never signed the original order. Apparently, she made quite an impression. The judge asked her, “How long have you been practicing law,”towhichsheresponded,“Longenoughtoknowyou shouldnothaveenteredthatorder.”Thejudgeangrilytold hertoleavehischambers.Hethensentwordtomehedid notappreciatetheconductanddemeanorofmyassociate.

Ironically, my associate was right in her understanding of the law in this matter but quite naïve in how to communicate with the court.

My motion was set for hearing and this time I appeared and presented argument. My motion was promptly sustained. It is not that I made a more persuasive argument.Rather,asanattorneyofmorethan30years,I was accorded a degree of respect and credibility denied to my associate.This was unfair. However, it revealed a reality facing young attorneys.

The young attorney can be subjected to condescending treatment by other attorneys and even some judges. I have memories of my own time as a young attorney. Cases in which I was not taken seriously by both opposing counsel and the court.

As professionals, we should strive to treat the young lawyer with the same degree of respect as the seasoned lawyer. There is much we can teach those in the early stages of their careers.

I will always appreciate the courtesy shown to me by a very prominent lawyer in a jury trial conducted at a time when I had less than 2 years’ experience. At every stage of the case he was kind and respectful. At trial, however, it became apparent I was badly overmatched. By the time he concluded his closing argument, I knew