For The Defense, February 2012 - DRI Today

Defense Ethics and Professionalism
Seven Legal Sins
Lessons from Mohandas Gandhi, Esq.
By Winston N. Harless
Mohandas Gandhi was a masterful wordsmith. He
crafted succinct and powerfully instructive statements
for those willing to listen and learn such as, “Live simply
so others may simply live,” and “An eye for an eye
makes the whole world go blind.” Given that Gandhi
first attempted to champion civil rights while he was an
expatriate lawyer in South Africa, lawyers might well
consider the lessons that we may glean from his words.
In one of his more expansive statements, Gandhi identified
with distinct and efficient clarity the seven sins
found in the world. Gandhi observed, “There are seven
sins in the world: Wealth without work, pleasure without
conscience, knowledge without character, commerce
without morality, science without humanity, worship
without sacrifice, and politics without principle.” Similar
to the dramatic style of that legendary filmmaker,
Alfred Hitchcock—exposing danger in the most unlikely
of places or situations—Gandhi exposes the dangers
that lurk in otherwise commendable attributes or pursuits.
With apologies to Gandhi, a practical translation
or paraphrasing of these observations may disclose to
lawyers at least seven legal sins that lurk in our world.
In the legal arena, we might paraphrase Gandhi’s
“wealth without work” best as “billing without work.”
Billing time that does not accurately reflect actual work
performed is unethical whether it takes form as inflating
an estimate of time spent on a task, taking credit
for work actually performed by a subordinate, or billing
a client for tasks that the client might expect a lawyer
to perform but which a lawyer never performed. In
so doing, a lawyer not only cheats a client, but he or she
also cheats that lawyer’s partners and co- workers, particularly
if the lawyer’s firm bases compensation on
performance related to originations and collections.
Unfortunately, this problem has long existed and likely
will persist, but ethical lawyers resist the temptation of
this legal sin.
We might paraphrase Gandhi’s “pleasure without
conscience” best as “winning without conscience.”
■■
Winston N. Harless is a shareholder in Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop, P.C., who
practices primarily from the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee, office. He has practiced
mainly in the areas of commercial litigation, insurance coverage and defense, professional
liability, and education law. He has served on the DRI Lawyers’ Professionalism
and Ethics Committee Steering Committee for six years, including as its
publications chair for the last three years, and he currently serves as the committee
vice chair. Ethics, continued on page
pro bono, become active in nonprofit organizations, vol-
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Whether improperly withholding damaging information
from an opponent, purposely failing to disclose the
holding of an obscure but clearly dispositive case to a
court, improperly coaching a client during a break during
a deposition or a trial, or purposely presenting facts
not admitted as evidence during a final argument, the
win-at-all-costs mentality has certainly tainted the noble
profession of law.
Similar to the twist of Gandhi’s second “sin,” we
might paraphrase his “knowledge without character”
best as “advocacy without character.” In this age when
so many take the position that your character doesn’t
matter as long as you perform, we lawyers would serve
ourselves well to remember one of the dreams of Gandhi
acolyte Martin Luther King Jr. He expressed the hope
that we would one day “live in a nation where” we would
properly judge people by “the content of their character.”
Although King exhorted us to judge based on character
rather than the color of someone’s skin, exemplifying
good character is a national ideal. In many ways, a
lawyer is a public figure and emissary of the profession
and, as such, should act accordingly to exemplify good
character.
Gandhi’s fourth sin—“commerce without morality”—doesn’t
need paraphrasing to hold true in the
legal world. When a lawyer’s primary question or concern
about a case is, “How can I work this file to create
more fees,” rather than, “What can I do to resolve this
case most efficiently and effectively for the benefit of my
client,” then Gandhi’s observation rings true.
Although a bit of a stretch, we might liken Gandhi’s
fifth sin of “science without humanity” to “technical
expertise without humanity.” Lawyers pride themselves
on their practiced skills, whether writing expertise, witness
interrogation, or oral presentation in court. These
skills are appropriate to desire and to achieve. Nonetheless,
who among us has not witnessed these same “skills”
used to vent personal attacks, convey professional disrespect,
or demonstrate unprofessional conduct toward
a witness, an opposing party, or an opposing attorney
Gandhi clearly exposes hypocrisy through his sin of
“worship without sacrifice.” In the legal realm, lawyers
must not accept the personal benefits and rewards of
their profession without giving service to others—the
legal sin of “prestige without service.” Whether we work