<strong>Defense</strong> 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, “<strong>The</strong>re 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 <strong>DRI</strong> 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- 68 62 ■ <strong>For</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Defense</strong> ■ <strong>February</strong> <strong>2012</strong> 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. <strong>The</strong>se 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
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