In late August 2000, the entering class of Franklin Pierce Law Center was asked to do something that no other class in the law school’s history has been asked to do – make an oath of commitment to the profession. At the close of the orientation program for the "1Ls," U.S. District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe administered the oath. Each new law student made the following commitment: "[A] s a student entering Franklin Pierce Law Center, [I] understand that I am joining an academic community and beginning my professional career. As a member of the Franklin Pierce Law Center community I will conduct my academic and professional life to promote justice and to uphold the principles of honesty, integrity, respect and civility."

In instituting the oath as a component of the entry into law school, Dean John Hutson’s aim was to help students understand that their commitment to the profession begins on "day one." He recently explained to me that in addition to adding a certain measure of solemnity to matriculation, the administration of the oath conveys the expectation that student lawyers will perform as professionals throughout their legal education. "Although the bar exam is three years away," he said, "students are expected to act like lawyers from the start."

Anne Yates (FPLC Class of 2003), one of the students who made the oath, told me that doing so made her feel like part of the broader legal community. She said that it helped her understand that the same high standards expected of lawyers are expected of her as a student. She also said that the oath served as a kind of "motivator," which helped her get through the difficult first year. As I listened to Yates describe the impact of the oath on her and her classmates, I tried to recall the words of the oath that I made when I was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar 23 years ago. I am embarrassed to say that I recalled very little of my oath.

The words are found in RSA 311:6, which requires that each New Hampshire lawyer must, in open court, take oaths to support the constitution of this state and of the United States, and to:

[S]olemnly swear or affirm that you will do no falsehood, nor consent that any be done in the court, and if you know of any, that you will give knowledge thereof to the justices of the court, or some of them, that it may be reformed; that you will not wittingly or willingly promote, sue or procure to be sued any false or unlawful suit, nor consent to the same; that you will delay no person for lucre or malice, and will act in the office of an attorney within the court according to the best of your learning and discretion, and with all good fidelity as well to the court as to your client. So help you God or under the pains and penalty of perjury.

Can such promises serve as "motivation" during hard times? I submit that they can. These promises – to ourselves, to each other and to our society – bind us together in a profession that is like no other. The lawyer’s role as advocate demands vigor against opponents. Yet, each lawyer must depend on his colleague/adversaries to keep their promises under the oath. When one lawyer fails in these promises, all are diminished and the justice system suffers. When these promises are kept, each generation of lawyers passes to the next the principles that guide the preservation of our rule of law.

Such ideals, of course, have meaning only when expressed in real-world terms. A recent experience comes to mind. One Friday morning at 9 a.m., I was scheduled to conduct a "routine" arraignment and bail hearing. The defendant appeared without counsel, having been transported to New Hampshire from New York State, where he had been arrested on pending New Hampshire drug charges. The prosecutor, pinch-hitting for a colleague who was unavailable, knew little about the case. He did know that the defendant had refused to waive extradition, and a governor’s warrant was obtained in order to have him brought to New Hampshire.

The defendant quietly and respectfully told me that there had to be a mistake – he was not the individual New Hampshire was looking for. Such protestations, of course, are not unique and I quizzed the defendant further. He stated that he had never before been in the state of New Hampshire, and that the arrest warrant described the perpetrator as a five-foot, eight-inch white man with green eyes. The defendant, a Hispanic with brown eyes, appeared to be about six feet tall. He stated that he refused to waive extradition because his New York attorneys had assured him that all would be straightened out with a habeas corpus motion. Such motion, however, had not yet been filed. The defendant had been held in a New York jail on New Hampshire’s warrant for 91 days.

During the course of the hearing, I noticed a public defender sitting in the courtroom waiting for another matter. I asked her to step forward. Before I could finish my request that she immediately look into the situation, she readily agreed. I asked the attorneys to report back to me before the end of the day.

At approximately 1:45 p.m., the attorneys and the defendant were back in the courtroom. The prosecutor reported that he was able to reach the undercover police officer involved in the subject drug transaction. The officer came to the courthouse, looked at the defendant, and confirmed that the defendant was not the perpetrator. I issued a release order and requested that arrangements be made for the defendant’s immediate travel back to his home in New York. At 3 p.m., the clerk’s office advised me that defense counsel had personally driven the defendant to the Valley Street Jail to retrieve some possessions, and then drove him to the Manchester bus station and personally paid his fare. I was told that reimbursement from victim compensation funds would be requested. The defendant was expected home by 10 p.m.

I relate this incident not because it is particularly dramatic, but because it demonstrates what professionalism looks like. These attorneys made justice happen when it needed to happen. They kept their promises to all of us.

In my position, every day I see unacknowledged acts of professionalism – large and small, courageous and mundane. As it is with so much of life, credit for such conduct is rarely given. Rather, the focus naturally centers on the incidents of disappointing conduct that erode collegial confidence and respect. Perhaps we need to refocus our attention on the uncountable acts of professionalism performed daily by New Hampshire attorneys. Let us acknowledge those who keep their promises to abide no falsehood, to prosecute no unlawful suit, to delay only for good cause, to perform to the best of their abilities and to be faithful to the court as well as their clients. And let us all silently renew our own oath-promises. We are, after all, professionals from day one.

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