Speaking with Elon Law students on November 11, David Gergen, adviser to four United States presidents, Director of the Center for Public Leadership and Professor of Public Service at the Harvard Kennedy School, and chair of the Law School Advisory Board at Elon, said that rising public confidence in lawyers would depend on meeting higher standards within the profession.
“Part of what we have got to do with the law is the same as what we have got to do with medicine and other fields, and that is to restore a sense of professionalism,” Gergen said. “There is a larger set of responsibilities that go beyond a particular case, to what the standards of a profession ought to be, what we are about collectively.”
Gergen said that renewed confidence in the legal profession would derive from lawyers increasingly serving the common good.
“The law was highly respected at one time, because people were thought to be the keepers of the flame, having some sense of civilized society and laws that were wise,” Gergen said. “To the extent that we become merchants, in effect just selling our wares, the confidence level is going to go down. People have more confidence if they think you are actually trying to serve the common good.”
One of the country’s preeminent political commentators, Gergen said that the future of the nation would be affected by decisions being made in Congress and in the White House this year.
“This is a real time of testing for the country,” Gergen said. “Everyone is trying to figure out what does the new normal look like and nobody quite knows exactly what the shape of the new normal is, but there is a general recognition that it is not going to be the same as what we left, and it may not be as good on the job front for a substantial period of time.”
Reviewing the current health care debate, foreign policy issues with China, India and Japan, and regulatory questions related to the financial industry, Gergen said law school graduates would need to play an increasingly important role in shaping the country’s standing in the world.
“For me law school and the life of the law is about trying to wrestle with these really hard questions,” Gergen said, “They require judgment and they require respect for values and respect for the constitution and constitutional traditions. You have to know those traditions and you have to have that kind of a start to be a really good counselor, not be a technical lawyer, but be a good counselor which is to me the heart of the law and what we’re trying to do here to help you become leaders in the law and leaders in your community.”