Head of Utah bar urges professionalism

At a time when TV shows depict attorneys as maniacal figures known more for their courtroom antics than their professionalism, the head of Utah's bar association says attorneys must battle those stereotypes and maintain a high level of professionalism.

Take for example the hit TV legal comedy "Boston Legal" where each week members of the law firm manage to enrage some judge with their behavior, even getting thrown in jail for contempt.

"We live today in a world where the profession is demonstrated by the television culture," said Utah State Bar President V. Lowry Snow. "The reality is, those (shows) made for TV are not at all what is expected for us as professionals, by our professional standards, or by our rules of ethics."

Fist pounding by attorneys on shows like "Law & Order" doesn't help.

"The public sometimes is not interested in a lawyer that's nice and is a gentleman because of their level of expectations of what they believe an attorney should be," Snow said. "Sometimes they expect a Rambo approach to the delivery of services."

Off the TV screen, Snow said attorneys must follow court and ethical rules. They are also regulated by the state bar. "If we practice law in the state of Utah, it's required that we be a member of the bar."

Recently the bar included a pledge to ethical behavior within the attorney's oath given by new attorneys joining the bar.

Snow said being professional and civil in court and in negotiations are not only important to the legal profession but important in supporting the public's confidence in the judicial branch of government.

In the past few years the elimination of three district court judges for their behavior on the bench has drawn the attention of lawmakers, who have called for an increase in oversight and standards for judicial retention.

"It's always been the bar's position that we feel strongly that we should have a strong independent judiciary in terms of being a separate branch of government. We get concerned when there are efforts made from time to time by the legislature to attempt to encroach on the role and the provenance of the judicial branch," Snow said.

There is currently a bill created by a joint judicial/lawmaker task force that proposes to take away the power of evaluating judicial performance from the Judicial Council, comprised of judges, and place it in the hands of an independent commission, whose members are appointed from all three branches of government. Those evaluations result on whether judges will be endorsed in the voter information guide. Ultimately voters decide whether to vote to retain them.