Marc J Hawk, III, American Bar Association (ABA); Legal Ethics from the Lens of a Student Attorney
"I’m a second-year law student and a student attorney in my school’s general practice clinic. As a first-generation law student, I entered this space with limited exposure to the legal profession. Law school, however, has a way of bringing ethics to life in real time.
Through clinical work, you experience what I describe as a clinical lawyering enlightenment. Suddenly, everything you’ve spent hundreds of hours learning is no longer theoretical; you’re applying it to real people, real problems, and real consequences. And you have to get it right.
This doesn’t come without mistakes. My professional responsibility professor always gives rules for the courses she teaches. I'll follow her lead and give my three rules in case you haven’t been exposed to legal ethics:
- Be a Decent Human Being. This is your foundation. Remember it, along with the golden rule.
- Learn the Rules of Professional Responsibility and Understand Character and Fitness. Lean into disclosure, candor, and financial responsibility. Yes, even paying credit card bills on time matters.
- When in Doubt, Slow Down. Then, as always, think before you act."
