"Justice Brandeis described his legal practice before ascending to the Supreme Court as 'counsel to the situation' . In his view, the lawyer was more than an adversarial advocate. The lawyer was a counselor , a negotiator, a problem solver who sought to advance the client's objectives while maintaining the highest standards of ethics and serving the public interest.
"At the Senate confirmation hearing on his Supreme Court nomination, Brandeis was berated for serving as 'counsel to the situation ' instead of counsel to the client. Did he not have a duty, he was asked, to represent vigorously his client's interest, even if the interests of other parties and the public suffered? In some specific instances. Brandeis may have taken the concept too far (compromising his obligation first and foremost to serve the client), but I fully agreed with his broader conception: first, in representing clients, a member of the bar has an obligation to uphold the standards of integrity and inform the client of the public interest considerations at stake, and, second, a truly outstanding lawyer is able to represent a client on a broad range of issues, calling in specialists, as needed, but also capable of mastering a set of complex interrelated issues and moving nimbly among legal disciplines. The kind of legal practice defined by Brandeis has been my aspiration as a lawyer. My informal advice to Bill Levitt while I was at the Dilworth firm, that his early policy of racial exclusion from the Levittown projects was unwise and in conflict with emerging national policy against racial discrimination in housing, illustrates the point. To distinguish my nuanced interpretation of the Brandeis philosophy, I have coined the term 'counsel for the situation.' I would be counsel to the client but willing and able to discuss any situation.
P.367, "Counsel for the Situation," COUNSEL FOR THE SITUATION, RESHAPING THE LAW TO REALIZE AMERICA 'S PROMISE (2010) by William T. Coleman with Donald T. Bliss
As I approach the end of his simply masterful personal historical legal autobiography of the remarkable Philadelphia lawyer, William T. Coleman, which I urge all lawyers to read, his substitution of the prepositions 'to' for 'for' displayed his knowledge, not only the power of nuance, but the quiet impact of precision upon public perceptions.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
COUNSEL
"Justice Brandeis described his legal practice before ascending to the Supreme Court as 'counsel to the situation' . In his view, the lawyer was more than an adversarial advocate. The lawyer was a counselor , a negotiator, a problem solver who sought to advance the client's objectives while maintaining the highest standards of ethics and serving the public interest.
"At the Senate confirmation hearing on his Supreme Court nomination, Brandeis was berated for serving as 'counsel to the situation ' instead of counsel to the client. Did he not have a duty, he was asked, to represent vigorously his client's interest, even if the interests of other parties and the public suffered? In some specific instances. Brandeis may have taken the concept too far (compromising his obligation first and foremost to serve the client), but I fully agreed with his broader conception: first, in representing clients, a member of the bar has an obligation to uphold the standards of integrity and inform the client of the public interest considerations at stake, and, second, a truly outstanding lawyer is able to represent a client on a broad range of issues, calling in specialists, as needed, but also capable of mastering a set of complex interrelated issues and moving nimbly among legal disciplines. The kind of legal practice defined by Brandeis has been my aspiration as a lawyer. My informal advice to Bill Levitt while I was at the Dilworth firm, that his early policy of racial exclusion from the Levittown projects was unwise and in conflict with emerging national policy against racial discrimination in housing, illustrates the point. To distinguish my nuanced interpretation of the Brandeis philosophy, I have coined the term 'counsel for the situation.' I would be counsel to the client but willing and able to discuss any situation.
P.367, "Counsel for the Situation," COUNSEL FOR THE SITUATION, RESHAPING THE LAW TO REALIZE AMERICA 'S PROMISE (2010) by William T. Coleman with Donald T. Bliss
As I approach the end of his simply masterful personal historical legal autobiography of the remarkable Philadelphia lawyer, William T. Coleman, which I urge all lawyers to read, his substitution of the prepositions 'to' for 'for' displayed his knowledge, not only the power of nuance, but the quiet impact of precision upon public perceptions.