A PROFILE IN PROFESSIONALISM

The Honorable Frank B. Rynd Judge, 309th District Court

Practicing law is a profession in which we have the privilege of using our mind and our education in our life's work. Notwithstanding the numerous jokes that poke fun at attorneys, it is my belief that most attorneys are responding to a call to serve others.

The word "profession" has its roots in the Latin word professio, which means "public declaration." When men and women enter religious communities as monks or sisters, the act of taking their vows is referred to as "professing vows." They are considered professed members of their religious community once they have taken the vows that commit them to their vocation.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines profession as "(a) a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation; (b) a principal calling, vocation, or employment; and (c) the whole body of persons engaged in a calling."

Certainly any attorney reading this article recalls the rigorous academic preparation we engaged in in order to become members of this profession. I think the mark of professionalism in an attorney is the knowledge that he or she became an attorney in response to a calling coupled with a desire to serve others. This does not mean that attorneys have professed a vow of poverty! Certainly we can earn good incomes practicing law, but we should not forget that the profession exists to serve others. The beauty of being an attorney is that the profession gives us so many ways to do so while practicing law.