Professor Patrick E. Longan
Legal Profession
Walter F. George School of Law
Mercer University
Excerpts From Student Oral History Papers, Spring, 2004
# 3447
In my opinion, the “oral history” assignment was one of the most useful assignments in the entire Legal Profession course. The books, articles, and class lectures taught us a great deal about the profession and its inherent problems. The problem with such material is that its benefits are limited by a lack of real world context. Meeting with an attorney for an oral history is the perfect way to provide the lacking context. The oral history assignment provided added emphasis to certain areas of class discussion while providing examples and solutions to some of the problems discussed in the class materials. Overall, it appeared that the experiences and concerns of the lawyer my group met with were very similar to the concerns discussed in class.
# 2430
[Our lawyer] was a wonderful person to speak with for this portion of the class. He was inspiring and reignited my drive and motivation to become a successful attorney. I believe that with lawyers like him and others that participated in this oral history program the mentoring of new attorneys will be around for a while more. This mentoring, in conjunction with the law schools push towards professionalism, has promise to product ethical lawyers with great skills for years to come.
#2215
What surprised me though was the fact that [our lawyer] raised many of the issues that we have discussed this semester without knowing anything about the specifics of our topics in class. He talked about the problems that many lawyers have with balance, civility, and transcendence, excellence and public service. His recognition of these issues affirmed my belief in the course and his comments about his own struggles in these areas was enlightening.
# 3243
[Our lawyer] read a passage to us from a medical textbook that he thought was applicable also to our futures as lawyers. He said it was an ‘entry into a way of life-a calling—and that we, as members of this profession would never be able to separate our lives from it.’ I’ve spent an amount of time reflecting on this bit of advice, and I do believe he had a point when he said that being an attorney is not like flipping a switch when one comes to work and then turning it off when you leave. He said you never really separate yourself from the job, as it colors how you see the world daily and how you conduct your relationships with even family and friends. He used the phrase, which I have become particularly fond of, ‘you have to live it or leave it.’ And from my limited experience with this life, this calling, I think he is right.
Many, indeed most, of the things [our lawyer] discussed with us were topics I recognized from this class. Civility between lawyers, trusting relationships with clients, seeing the profession as a calling, and finding a balance in life were all topics we have been reflecting on all semester. However, it was a wonderful experience to hear someone in daily practice attributing his success to these same things, and through this conversation, I realized the importance of all that we have been studying throughout this course.
#7777
I really enjoyed my time with [our lawyer]. This was probably my favorite assignment that we have had in this case, aside from the biography reading. These were positive experiences where we could see through the eyes of an attorney the world as it existed in those times. We could see through the eyes of the attorney ethical problems and problems oriented around practice that and the solutions that were offered. We also got to see what worked and what did not. In studying a profession such as ours, I believe it is imperative to rely on the tradition and history that is in the profession, to recognize and accept the reverence that this profession deserves, and this assignment, more than all others, really drove that lesson home.
#3139
[Our lawyer] was an open, genuine, and intelligent man. Many of the points we discussed in our session with him corresponded closely with our classroom discussions. He believes strongly in the virtue of the legal profession and clearly loves the career path he chose. He enjoyed his career, the opportunities it has afforded him, and his brethren. He acknowledges a lot of the issues with the legal profession, with the hope things will be better in the future. In many ways, he didn’t necessarily tell us anything new, but what he did do was give me some hope that perhaps coming to law school was the right decision. Hearing from someone who practiced law for over 50 years and admitting how much he has loved what he did, is surely a sign that things are not all doom in gloom. He admits the opportunities are not the same for our generation, but the opportunities still exist.
#3253
In conclusion, it was an absolute pleasure to have had the opportunity to meet with [our lawyer]. She is a shining example of all the facets of professionalism that we have spent so much time examining in class. Furthermore, she had debunked the myth that life as an attorney is simply an existence of long hours and one stressful event followed by another. Her commitment to her profession is solid but does not consume her life. Her life as an attorney is something to which we all could aspire. She is a professional. (After all, she is a Mercer graduate.)
#3501
The meeting with [our lawyer] was a very educational and entertaining experience. With all the legal experience that comes with 50 years of practicing law, he has enlightened my group and opened our eyes with excitement about practicing law. While ethical problems are still a part of the lawyer’s life, and will probably continue to be so throughout eternity, I am still proud to be on the path to becoming a lawyer and I look forward to the day when I may sit down with a group of first year law students and tell them how proud I am to be a lawyer.
#3390
Overall it is clear that [our lawyer] finds his work challenging, and will continue to take on these challenges for many years to come. He, like most law students and almost all lawyers, has a competitive and ambitious personality. I believe that this also contributes to his long dedication to the law, and his preference for trial work. For these reasons I believe that myself and many of my classmates will also have a long dedicated life to the legal profession. This interview, like the first year of law school, has continued to reconfirm my belief in the profession and my choice to become a lawyer. I hope that one day I can relate the kind of experiences and decisions to law students, as [our lawyer] imparted upon me.
#3336
What impressed me the most about [our lawyer] was how happy she is to be a lawyer. Not only is she happy to be a lawyer, but she loves other lawyers and prefers to be in their company when given the opportunity. That, to me, was inspiring.
I think she’s proof that you can be a happy, successful lawyer and still manage to have a family, a personal life, and feel good going to work every day.
#2314
In conclusion, I enjoyed our interview with [our lawyer]. I felt that the advice he shared with us was very important, and that it would be very beneficial as we start our legal careers. A lot of the things we discussed were the same things that we have been talking about in class, however, I believe that it is a good reinforcement of the material to hear it again from someone who is practicing on a daily basis. It seemed to take some of the abstract concepts from class and give them a real world angle. I think these types of interviews serve a very important function in legal education, and should be supported whenever possible.
#3285
I found the interview with [our lawyer] to be informative and enlightening. It was refreshing to see a lawyer that truly enjoyed her choice of career even with its ups and downs. She exhibits all the traits of a good lawyer that have been discussed in class. I hope I find my experience in the profession as rewarding as she has found hers.
#2434
In essence, [our lawyer] is the epitome of what an attorney should be in terms of professionalism. His enthusiastic love for the law is nearly contagious. It is wonderful to know that not only do such “models of civility of professionalism” exist in a profession that is often looked at negatively in terms of how society views the conduct of its members, but it is also refreshing to find someone who is so willing to reach back into the community by lighting the way for hopeful and eager future attorneys.
#1807
I left [our lawyer’s] office newly rejuvenated. It was as though I had been drowning a half inch under the water, and someone grabbed me and showed me to the air I was so greatly struggling to find. The air that he provided me was reassurance that good can be done in this world through the legal profession, and that it is not just the public work and pro-bono lawyers that provide it. I believe that there is no area of law that bars professionalism by default. Rather, I am reaffirmed in my philosophy that it is the lack of moral integrity in the individual lawyer that causes many of the problems in the legal profession, and conversely it is the commendable ambitions of many lawyers that make the profession great. That said, I feel that by emphasizing [our lawyer’s] attitude in all aspects of life the problems we face as a society and a profession will begin to fade away.
# 3340
I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have met such a man as [our lawyer]. He reminds me of the attorneys in my small, North Carolina hometown. He had a rural charm but I could tell that he was sharp and extremely capable from the way he spoke to us. Obviously, Macon is not a metropolis, but it was refreshing to see a positive, successful attorney who was “doing it right” in a fairly substantial market. Often after class, I have questioned my desire to become an attorney, but my meeting with [our lawyer] reinforced my decision to join this ancient and honorable profession. I want to model my career and life on attorneys like him. The qualities we have studied are very important to me and it gives me hope to see positive role models that exemplify the highest ideals of the law and society. It was a pleasure and a real treat to be able to sit down and learn from him. He reinforced the importance of making proper choices in the practice of law and my meeting with him will influence my choices in the future.
#3272
In general, I very much enjoyed the interview and consider it the highlight of the class. [Our lawyer] was a font of useful information and an excellent conversationalist. He’s a person I would be proud to work for, and a model of a successful attorney that I would be pleased to emulate. I’m glad I got the opportunity to meet him.
#3299
Although I’m addressing this last, our first question for [our lawyer] was to describe how he saw the state of law as a career in the future. He painted a not-quite- bright picture, but with little gleaming bits of hope. He predicts increased specialization resulting in a more fragmented profession, leading to a general decline in the number of general practitioners. He also predicted that the state bar associations would have less of an influence than they do currently, which is less that the bar had when he was President. But the recent law school graduates keep him hopeful.
As stated at the beginning of this paper, [our lawyer] is professionalism in a black suit. Speaking with him was refreshing and inspiring, and we all left with maybe a more optimistic view of law as a career than we arrived with. Personally, I appreciated the fact that although he had many of the criticisms about the law that we’ve been discussing in class, he had an almost palpable delight in it as a profession and as a molder of character.
#3257
It was refreshing to talk to [our lawyer] about his legal career. I hope that I am as fulfilled and happy with my legal career as he seemed to be. I do not think he would have changed careers if he had the opportunity to do it all over again. I hope that I can look back on the choices I made in my career and have no regrets. It was nice to meet and talk to a lawyer who was a professional in every sense of the word. It was reassuring to know that there are professional lawyers who do have successful careers. I enjoyed the afternoon I spent talking with [our lawyer], and I learned a great deal from his stories.