| Back
to School
By Dan Murdock, OBA General Counsel
This time of year signifies many changes in our lives.
Students are back in school. Teachers are back teaching. Many swimming
pools and some amusement parks close. Fashion, although I am told
that the custom may not exist as much as is it once did, dictates
that white clothes be closeted for the winter and cowboys put up
their straw hats and get out the felt ones. Fall is near, and there
is always football. This time of year gives us a chance to change
as well — and there’s still ample time to accomplish
many of our goals for the year.
Labor Day marks this time of year better than anything
else that might occur. Although started in 1882 by labor organizations
and trade groups and established as a federal holiday in 1894 to
honor and recognize the American worker, it is symbolic of change:
a change in season, a change in lifestyle, a change of pace or a
change in fashion. We can consider and implement a few changes to
plan the next four months of the year to ensure our continued success.
We can consider this time a new beginning with new
plans and ideas. We start by going back to school, not to a school,
but continuing our legal education. The new Rules of Professional
Conduct will become effective Jan. 1, 2008. There are changes, and
we must become knowledgeable about these changes so as to properly
practice our chosen profession. It is especially important to study
the amended Preamble: A Lawyer’s Responsibility. Important
language was added that I believe was inserted to emphasize and broaden
the thought of lawyers that they act not alone but as a member of
the legal profession. There is also important language that re-emphasizes
professionalism and encourages lawyers to provide pro bono legal
services to “all those who because of economic or social barriers
cannot afford or secure adequate legal counsel.”
It is a time to re-energize. Summer is over. Vacations,
if you had one, are done. Labor Day might be a day off for most and
then it is back to work. But we can go back to work with a new and
positive energy — and plans to improve the way in which we
represent our clients. As I continue to write and meet a long-past
deadline, I recognize that many times it is difficult to have that
energy. But it is a necessity if we are to continue to provide proper
representation to our clients.
However, even though I stress work issues of continued
education and renewed energy, we should not forget about entertainment.
Doing the type of work we do is difficult. We deal with problems
each and every day and shoulder the burden of many who are relying
on us for help. We must maintain a proper work-life balance so as
to be able to continue to provide the professional service required
of us. New programs at the OBA are available to assist when there
are difficulties in our lives with which we need assistance.
It is almost a sure certainty that the leaves will change color and
the grass will go dormant. The temperature will drop and soon the coats
will again come out of the closet. That almost sure certainty does
not apply to our work. We must continue to educate ourselves; we must
continue to energize ourselves, and we must continue to entertain ourselves.
If we do that, then although not an almost sure certainty, positive
things in our work and our lives will follow.
Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal September
1, 2007 - Vol. 78; No. 24. |
