The Concept of Professionalism for Lawyers

Professionalism is of the utmost importance for attorneys as they are held to the highest standards of professional conduct. This course provides an explanation and framework for assessing professional ethical conduct in the context of the legal industry.

Professional conduct is important in a variety of attorney relationships. Remaining professional with both clients and opposing parties and counsel is complex, requiring knowledge of both ethics of duty and ethics of aspiration for lawyers. While ethics is a minimum standard for attorneys, professionalism is a higher standard that is expected of them.

This course covers legal ethics and professionalism, aspirational ideals for attorneys, and applications and scenarios of professional conduct. Attorneys seeking guidance on professionalism are encouraged to attend this course.

Learning Objectives:

• Assess what ‘professionalism’ means for attorneys
• Identify unprofessional conduct versus professional conduct
• Compare ethics and professionalism
• Review the aspirational ideals for an attorney