I was in the county court a few times last week. Their weapons screening procedure is particularly rigorous. It may be because in 1992, the first work day after I was sworn in as president of the local bar association, a divorce court litigant opened his briefcase in the courtroom, pulled out two guns, killed his wife as she sat on the witness stand, and then shot her lawyer, his lawyer, the bailiff and a security officer.
A recent increase in the sensitivity of the devices was instituted when a court room visitor calmly pulled a knife out of his bag to clean his teeth while sitting in the gallery of the presiding judge’s courtroom.
In any event, building in extra time to clear security before a court hearing is commonplace in that courthouse. As I removed my belt and shoes, and every other piece of metal from my body, except dental filings (most of which aren’t metal these days anyway), I thought about how proud I’d been to march into the Courtroom in my three piece suit during my first year of practice, and how drastically some things have changed during the ensuing years.
My reflections didn’t really surprise me. After all, the only thing that doesn’t change is the fact that things change. Some things change because the times change. Other change occurs as we grow older. Others seem to change for unfathomable reasons.
There are a lot more lawyers now, and some of the camaraderie has dissipated. That complaint has probably been constant since the beginning of the profession. (Except perhaps during the bubonic plague when there was a decrease of lawyers, rather than an increase.)
Nowadays, when I see an attorney who started practicing law when I did, there is often an unspoken bond between us which we didn’t have in the beginning. It’s a bond formed by going through the years together, witnessing the changes and remembering some of the times past.
The lack of camaraderie was recently highlighted in an opinion by Judge Eric Melgren, of the United States District Court in Kansas. Defendant’s counsel, Mr. Erman had requested a short continuance since the case was to be tried in Kansas City, Kan., Erman lived in Dallas, Texas, and he and his wife were due to have their first child at the approximate time of the trial date.
Unfortunately, Plaintiffs’ counsel objected. This caused Judge Melgren to pine for the days of more courtesy and to write: “Certainly this Judge is convinced of the importance of federal court, but he has always tried not to confuse what he does with who he is, nor to distort the priorities of his day job with his life’s role. Counsel are encouraged to order their priorities similarly.” The Judge’s opinion ended, “Defendant’s Motion is granted. The Ermans are congratulated.”
It wasn’t that long ago that I was a young lawyer practicing in federal court. I remember many times racing down to the federal court to get a pleading filed by 5:30 p.m.. Even though my first law office was only eight blocks from the courthouse, sometimes one of us would drive so the other could race up the steps to get the pleading filed on time.
Today our legal administrative assistants (once known as “secretaries”), do the electronic filing any time before midnight. Another change has been the increase in mostly tasteless and often embarrassing lawyer advertising, along with the persistent march, among some, to place profit over professionalism. Profit, of course, is good, but it’s not more important than justice.
As I look around my office, there is still art on the walls, but now there are a few framed editorial cartoons from cases I was lucky enough to work on. There are also a few souvenirs from some of the cases I won. None of us keeps souvenirs from cases we’ve lost. There’s still pictures on the wall of my family – though there have been a few changes – and a number of additions.
As I look out my window, I can see skyscrapers that I saw being built while I was working on various cases. A lot of them have been beacons over the years, but are now partially vacant and less than shining. There’s not a lot of building going on these days in this rough economy.
Law firms have experienced economic difficulties that previously had not been encountered during my time as a lawyer.
Nevertheless, even in the slow, “tighten the belt times,” we still have more things than the earlier days. Economic times may be tough, but the quality and volume of goods amassed – for ourselves and our families – through the practice of law have been significant. An accumulation of things reflects our society in general.
In America, we all seem to constantly have more. Well, most of us, anyway. As always, there is a group that gets left out, and probably always will.
Some things are better. The associates don’t put in the back breaking hours in the larger firms that we did as young lawyers. They seem to have a stronger consciousness of quality of life issues.
In the “old days” it was not so easy for me to see a federal judge. I’ve told the story in the past of requesting a continuance and having the federal judge’s secretary tell me “No!” and that I didn’t get to see the judge at all. These days I can drop in and see almost any judge unannounced. They are my old friends and classmates.
Judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, politicians and high powered business executives are the titles now bestowed upon people I used to know simply as “Dan” or “Deborah.” Sometimes I forget who we have become, and wonder why the people at the ball park stare at us when we go to baseball games together.
On the other hand, when I do remember who I’m with, I can’t help wonder why most of them don’t make as much money as the youngest prospects on the baseball field. Maybe our talents aren’t as unique.
Unique or not, appreciated or not, one thing that hasn’t changed over the years is my sense that being a lawyer comes, for me, with no regrets. It’s pretty good to be able to help people out. Even though some days it seems more like a business than a profession, it’s still a great way to spend the day.
©2011 Under Analysis LLC Mark Levison is a member of the law firm Lathrop & Gage LLP. You can reach Under Analysis LLC in care of this paper or by e-mail at comments@levisongroup.com.