'Public Service Must Begin at Home': The Lawyer as Civics Teacher in Everyday Practice

33 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2009 Last revised: 12 May 2010

See all articles by Bruce A. Green

Bruce A. Green

Fordham University School of Law

Russell G. Pearce

Fordham University School of Law

Abstract

In contrast to the modern understanding that associates the 'citizen lawyer' most often with law reform, pro bono work, and other efforts outside daily private practice, this Article argues that lawyers shape American democracy in all parts of their practice, especially the everyday work of representing clients. Given expression in the 1958 ABA/AALS Report authored by Lon Fuller as well as in writings that both predate it and postdate it, the conception of the lawyer serving the role we describe as a 'civics teacher' directly addresses the lawyer's counseling of clients in the daily private practice of law, regardless of whether the matter relates to a transaction or to litigation. It emphasizes that when lawyers counsel clients about their legal rights and obligations, and about how to act within the framework of the law, lawyers invariably teach clients not only about the law and legal institutions, but also, for better or worse, about rights and obligations in a civil society that may not be established by enforceable law, including ideas about fair dealing, respect for others, and concern for the public good. This conception also addresses aspects of lawyers' work aside from client counseling, because lawyers teach clients by example, especially when lawyers address their own legal obligations in the course of a representation. Adopting and elaborating upon the idea of the lawyer's role as civics teacher, we suggest, would lead lawyers to perform this function more self-consciously and, therefore, more often for the better.

Keywords: lawyers, public good, moral counseling, Lon Fuller, pro bono, citizen lawyer, amoral partisan, hired gun, jurisprudence

Suggested Citation

Green, Bruce A. and Pearce, Russell G., 'Public Service Must Begin at Home': The Lawyer as Civics Teacher in Everyday Practice. William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 50, p. 1207, 2009, Fordham Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1418585, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1418585

Bruce A. Green

Fordham University School of Law ( email )

140 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
United States
212-636-6851 (Phone)
212-636-6899 (Fax)

Russell G. Pearce (Contact Author)

Fordham University School of Law ( email )

140 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
United States
212-636-6834 (Phone)
212-636-6899 (Fax)

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