By John Minnis
Legal News
The 197-body 2010 entering class at Wayne State University Law School ended orientation week on a strong note Friday, Aug. 27, with a reception and program on professionalism at the Detroit Athletic Club.
For the first time, Wayne Law School took part it in the State Bar of Michigan's Professionalism in Action Program where 1Ls during orientation get to meet with legal veterans to discuss the myriad, thorny issues involving professionalism.
"We are very pleased, delighted and honored to welcome members of practicing bar and judiciary attending our Professionalism in Action Program," said Robert M. Ackerman, dean of the law school. "I would like to give special thanks to Anne Marie Burr, director of legal research and writing, who really put this thing together."
Burr said she is impressed with this year's entering class, which includes students from 16 states, eight countries and many leading universities. The 2010 entering class posted a median LSAT score of 156 and a median GPA of 3.40.
"I've been spending 24 hours a day with them over the past week," Burr said.
State Bar Immediate Past President Edward H. Pappas initiated the Professionalism in Action Program last year. During law school orientations, new students are divided into small groups and paired with experienced attorneys to explore ethical issues.
According to current State Bar President Charles Toy, "Professional ethics prescribe what a lawyer must do while professionalism includes both ethics and what a lawyer should do."
The first Professionalism in Action Program two took place in May 2009 at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School Auburn Hills campus, followed by a second program in August 2009 at the Michigan State University College of Law. The program has since been held at all Cooley campuses.
"It's one thing to hear the professors talk about professionalism," Ackerman said. "It's another thing to hear from those in the trenches."
Speaking to the entering 1Ls, Toy said, "I welcome you on behalf of the 40,000 licensed attorneys in the state of Michigan," he said. "Don't worry, only 32,000 are actively practicing."
Toy noted that though the Professionalism in Action Program began just last year, it has become very popular among entering law school students.
"It provides an opportunity for you students to interact with veteran attorneys on a very important topic, professionalism," Toy said. "I'm so pleased Wayne State is participating in the program and that you, too, can participate in the program."
One legal veteran participating in the program was Gerald E. Rosen, chief judge for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, in Detroit. Rosen is also an adjunct professor teaching evidence at Wayne Law.
"I enjoy coming here and meeting with folks like you on the cusp of a legal profession," Rosen told the students. "I look forward to seeing a lot of you over the next couple of years."
Rosen said that when he reflects back to when he was a law student and a young attorney, he never thought he would one day be chief judge of a federal court. He told the entering 1Ls that not only will they be trained in a rewarding career, they will also be changed as a person and in the way they think about things.
"You will begin thinking about things in life in a different way, for good or nil," he said.
The chief judge said he meets many lawyers who are burned out, who feel they are not getting all they should out of their legal careers. To counter this, Rosen urged students to give their all to every case.
"If you short-arm things," he said, "you are the one who is going to be shortcut in the end. You are the one who will be diminished. You will not be the best lawyer you can be."
Answering the question, "Are there too many lawyers?" Rosen said, "There are too many poor lawyers and not enough good lawyers."
He said "law is a demanding mistress" and that there are times when there will be conflicts between the young attorneys' personal and family lives and their professional lives.
"My wife says I'm compulsive," Rosen said. "Show me someone who is successful in this profession who is not a little compulsive. You have to push all they way and give it your best shot. If you do, it's the best profession in the world.
"Good luck to you."
Dean Ackerman noted a story in the current ABA Journal about an Ohio lawyer who was suspended for over-billing local courts for indigent representation, submitting bills for more than 24 hours a day. Below the story, one person commented that the attorney was not wrong in billing more than 24 hours a day. Her mistake was in billing "the same client" more than 24 hours a day.
"I don't think that's the kind of professionalism we're trying to teach here," Ackerman said.
Student Shane Nolan of Lapeer said he is going to Wayne because he "loves Detroit" and because the law school has a good reputation. He said he is leaning toward business law, but is keeping an open mind.
"I'll see where it goes," he said.
Published: Tue, Aug 31, 2010
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