The Responsibility of Our Profession
By Bion Gregory

It’s no secret that lawyers routinely take a bashing in the court of public opinion. But what most people might not know is that lawyers belong to one of the few professions committed to performing public service.

I am proud of the fact that America’s lawyers are in the forefront of community service, with activities that justify enormous pride in our profession.

Members of the legal profession routinely generously give their time to community organizations and to help those less able to help themselves. It is in the tradition of our profession, and it is critical to the preservation of a free society.

In a society based upon the rule of law, those who have studied it have played a role far out of proportion to their numbers in the population. We were present at the creation of this great nation. Out of the fifty-five member of the 1787 Constitutional Convention that created the nation, thirty-one were lawyers.

From the beginning, because of the nature of our training in analysis, synthesis, critical thinking, and method of practice in a licensed profession, lawyers have been found in elected and appointed office far more than any other profession.

All of this education, training, and study, however, means little unless it is used to improve the quality of community, national, and world life by providing high quality moral leadership whether as President of the United States or President of the local PTA or other civic association. In community building, in creating and maintaining a civilized community with a high standard of living, imparting the moral values of our civilization is as important as assuring its material wealth.

But this is true for all professions. In this age of knowledge, knowledge has always been power, and despite the mixed feelings and barely concealed resentment many have about learned professionals, the nation, indeed the world, looks to us for leadership. And despite these mixed feelings, parents are still pleased when their child chooses to become a lawyer, theologian, teacher, doctor, scientist, or professional in one of the many other fields that require years of study, hard work, and continuous learning, and whose duties to society outweigh the making of money. Citizens need to trust us.

More than any other profession, however, lawyers have a special obligation as guardians of democracy, of the “rule of law,” a rational scheme of justice rather than the capricious and arbitrary rule of dictators and monarchs. Consequently, we must be “role model citizens.” I would hope that even if the military failed, lawyers would man the barricades and fight to the last to defend the last best hope of humankind that has taken billions of years to create and the shed of much blood to keep.

The legal profession traditionally has played an historic role in connecting society with the rule of law. The legal profession also has played a major role in ensuring that the rule of law remains strong in our nation, that it pursues justice and defends liberty. It is a tradition to be proud of.

The legal profession must assume leadership in assuring that all our citizens experience the blessings of liberty, and that democratic institutions take root around the world.

First, the legal profession must help all Americans understand how the law protects their rights and responsibilities—and how they, in turn, have to participate in our democracy to keep it strong.

Second, the legal profession must be as varied and diverse as the public to retain its essential role as connecting link with the rule of law. During this historic time, our profession has made it a top priority to improve racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession.

Third, we must meet the expanding global nature of our responsibilities. As governments embrace democratic principles and as markets open, we must ready ourselves for new challenges. Our responsibility as lawyers and as citizens of the world requires that we offer help to those in the international community seeking our assistance in the development of institutions based on the rule of law.

It is a part of my vision for our profession that our core values never change, because they set us apart as a profession and are critical to the preservation of a free society.

Activities like this contribute to another part of that vision, that the American legal profession be valued, respected, and revered by the American people, as it ought to be, because there is a nobility of purpose about the profession and the work that it does.

It is true, and very important to note, that the Sacramento County Bar Association is not, nor should be thought of, as a mere trade organization. Indeed, the ultimate constituent of any bar association is justice and the rule of law.

The Association ultimately exists to uphold and defend the Constitutions of the United States and California, to promote the fair administration of justice, to apply its knowledge and experience in the field of the law to the promotion of the public good. We serve the community.

The volunteerism of lawyers makes our people and our country stronger. We make the promise of the Constitution real. Americans should be proud of a profession that helps safeguard the rights that generations fought and died for. Not just on Law Day, but every day.