One morning nearly 40 years ago, I appeared before the Appellate Division of the New York state Supreme Court, raised my right hand, and, along with about 200 other young lawyers, was sworn in as an “attorney and counsellor at law.” Those words on the engraved certificate, which I proudly displayed in my law office, mean something. An attorney is one who acts for another or represents another in legal matters and court proceedings. A counsellor, as its name implies, provides legal counsel or guidance to clients.
Nowhere in the oath that I took or in the certificate I received did it say anything about being a press agent. Yet, as I have observed over the course of my legal career, more and more lawyers have taken on the role once reserved for high-priced public relations firms. And this development is good neither for lawyers nor the public they are supposed to serve.
