Berenson on Sullivan’s Book on Civic Participation and Professionalism, Applied To Lawyers

Posted by Alan Childress

Steven Berenson (Thomas Jefferson), left, has posted to SSRN’s Law & Soc’y: The Legal Prof. his review essay, “Institutional Professionalism for Lawyers: Realizing the Virtues of CivicProfessionalism.” It is also in 109 West Virginia Law Review  67 (2006), and reviews Work and Integrity: The Crisis andPromise of Professionalism in America (2004).  Here is the abstract:

     In Work and Integrity: The Crisis andPromise of Professionalism in America, author William M. Sullivanlaments the continuing decline in civic participation on the part ofboth American professionals and the public at large that has resultedfrom the combined forces of technological change, globalization, andrampant materialism. Sullivan contends that professionals can point theway toward a renewed era of civic engagement by embracing a vision ofprofessionalism that places a commitment to civic participation at itscore. Though Sullivan’s focus is on the professions generally, ratherthan the legal profession in particular, lawyers and legal academicshave much to gain from considering Sullivan’s views in conjunction withtheir work. The following review essay represents an initial effort tocompare Sullivan’s views with existing scholarship regarding theappropriate professional roles and responsibilities of lawyers.