“[W]e, as lawyers, are obligated to serve our communities as zealously as our clients.”
Grant Peterson
Institute of Professional Leadership Hardwick Fellow
Last week I had the privilege of writing for Lawyers as Leaders. In my prior post, which you should read, I proposed a working definition for leadership as a social process defined by relationships wherein individuals work together to achieve a goal that would otherwise be unachievable on their own. Everyone in an organization or civil society engages with that process differently. This week I am returning to build off that definition and the responsibilities it imposes on our profession.
Anyone who knows me well is aware that I am a bit of a Francophile. At my high school, students were required to choose a foreign language to study. I decided to learn French. While studying one day, I came across the term “Noblesse Oblige.” After googling the unfamiliar phrase, I discovered that Noblesse Oblige, or noble obligation, referred to a cultural tradition in pre-1790s France wherein the nobility practiced a duty of generosity to their serfs. In other words, “privilege entails responsibility.”[1] While modern America has many differences from pre-revolutionary France, except perhaps the continual rise of wealth inequality[2], the concept of Noblesse Oblige remains applicable to the profession of law.
Does that make us nobility? Not quite. Our Constitution wisely outlawed the practice.[3] A noble obligation is less so an obligation held by nobles but instead an obligation that is itself noble. A modern interpretation of noble obligation begins not with title, but with privilege. It is no secret that law school is expensive. Only 5% of students come from the bottom half of income at high-ranking schools like Harvard and Yale.[4] At all ends of college ranking, there are innumerable fees for applying and attending law school, which increase yearly.[5] Once you achieve your law degree, you will be hit with another wave of unceremonious fees for the bar exam.[6] The average cost for sliding across the finish line and obtain a law license is upwards of $230,163[7]. Even at more affordable state institutes, like the University of Tennessee College of Law, attendance will run $136,572 for in state attendees.[8] Costs of attendance remain a steep barrier for those seeking to practice law.
So what? Law school is expensive, the grass is green, and the sky is blue. Can’t hard work earn student scholarships to mount the financial hurdle? Absolutely. Law school is expensive, but it is also challenging. I am lucky to be surrounded by so many talented and hard-working peers. I even receive scholarships that help lessen, but not remove, the financial challenges that a law degree invites. I cannot, in good faith, ignore the amazing work my peers have done to be where they are today. Even if you find the privilege inherent in the financial realities of becoming a lawyer unpersuasive, there are procedural bottlenecks to joining the profession.
The United States has an expansive unauthorized practice of law penalty compared to other Western nations. Britain recognizes a distinction between barristers and solicitors, each requiring different levels of licensure and education.[9] France and Germany reserve less legal work for those with bar licenses.[10] In most states in the union, the practice of any law is reserved for those who have attended law school and passed the bar.[11] Institutions, like the Law School Admission Council and state bar examiners, have erected gates at various points along the process to regulate the flow of new labor into the legal market. Law schools must achieve accreditation from the American Bar Association, and accredited law schools have limited capacity. I will not endeavor to lay judgment on the wisdom of any part of the process, but the bottom line is that not everyone who wants to be a lawyer can be one. Being a member of the legal profession is a privilege in the least part because it is exclusive.
Everyone contributes to leadership. It is a social process, but not everyone is given the same access to influence that process. Lawyers in communities are naturally regarded as leaders. We, as professionals, are given the public trust as subject matter experts. Our clients often defer to our expertise in making life-altering decisions. Noblesse Oblige provides lawyers the charge that our privilege begets duty. Duty is more than a suggestion. It is “a moral or legal obligation.”[12] We naturally understand the legal obligations that extend to our clients. States have adopted their own codes of professional conduct that outline these responsibilities.[13] Beyond our clients, the public has entrusted us with the exclusive right to practice. Our duty ought to extend to the communities to which we belong. The duty is not a passive one. More than performing pro-bono services when convenient for our schedule, we, as lawyers, are obligated to serve our communities as zealously as our clients.
I cannot prescribe how any particular legal professional should fulfill his or her noble obligation. Each professional must reflect on their own ethical and spiritual values to determine what form service takes. Considering where to put your limited time, I would encourage you to reflect on what the leadership process looks like in your community. Where can you use your position as a lawyer to elevate others in that process? Act where your skills can be understood as most generous. When we do so, we participate in a truly noble profession.
I’d like to describe several routes for where we as lawyers can fulfill our noble obligation, but I have already gone on long enough. Kirksey Croft, this year’s other Hardwick Fellow, will join in this discussion in the next entry of Lawyers as Leaders. As a member of the pro-bono board at the University of Tennessee, she’s a fantastic advocate for volunteering our time and energy into worthy endeavors. She will share her own experiences with service and highlight how we as leaders can give back to our communities generously.
- [1] Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/noblesse (last visited October 10, 2024)
- [2] Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Ruth Igielnik, and Rakesh Kochhar, Trends in income and wealth inequality, Pew Research Center (last visited October 18, 2024), https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/
- [3] U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 8 (“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States”)
- [4] Daniel Fisher, Poor Students Are The Real Victims Of College Discrimination, Forbes (last visited October 18, 2024), https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/05/02/poor-students-are-the-real-victims-of-college-discrimination/
- [5] Melanie Hanson, Average Cost of Law School, Education Data Initiative (last visited October 18, 2024), https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-law-school#:~:text=Report%20Highlights.,of%20law%20school%20is%20%24230%2C163
- [6] Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, https://www.tnble.org/?page_id=227 (last visited October 18, 2024)
- [7] Melanie Hanson, Average Cost of Law School, Education Data Initiative (last visited October 18, 2024), https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-law-school#:~:text=Report%20Highlights.,of%20law%20school%20is%20%24230%2C163
- [8] University of Tennessee One Stop, https://onestop.utk.edu/billing-payments/cost-of-attending-ut-law-student/ (last visited October 18, 2024)
- [9] Chartlands Chambers, https://www.chartlands.org/what-is-the-difference-between-a-barrister-and-solicitor/ (last visited October 18,2024)
- [10] Conseil National Des Barreaux, https://www.cnb.avocat.fr/en/accessing-legal-profession-france#:~:text=University%20professors%2C%20and%20members%20of,their%20knowledge%20of%20professional%20ethics (last visited October 18, 2024); Indeed, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/jobs-in-law-without-degree (last visited October 18, 2024).
- [11] Andrei Zakhareuski, Do you have to go to law school to take the BAR?, Bar Prep Hero (last visited October 18, 2024), https://barprephero.com/learn/take-the-bar-exam-without-law-school/#:~:text=So%2C%20can%20you%20take%20the,and%20become%20a%20licensed%20attorney (California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington still allow apprenticeships to take the BAR exam).
- [12] Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duty (last visited October 18, 2024)
- [13] See Generally Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 1.1 – 1.118.
