I have just
returned from a nine-day visit with our graduates in Japan, as well as with
some of our many other friends on Japanese law faculties. Our more than three hundred Michigan
graduates who live in Japan have achieved extraordinary distinction in all
areas of professional endeavor. I
had the privilege of meeting with a Supreme Court Justice, a recently retired
President of Tokyo University, members of the Boards of Directors of major
corporations, partners in outstanding law firms, and renowned law
professors. All of them share a
deep affection for Michigan. As I
returned to Ann Arbor to welcome a new group of summer starters, I held a
heightened appreciation for the fact that our students are destined to be
leaders not only in this country, but around the world.
The beginning of
a new generation of students also reminded me that it was time to select a
theme for the coming year. As I
reported in this page last year, I intend to organize each year of my deanship
around a different theme, a different character trait that distinguishes an
outstanding attorney. During
1994-95, I chose to emphasize the great lawyer’s commitment to continuous
intellectual growth and renewal. I
am grateful to all those of you who helped me by offering suggested themes for
future years.
Several of your
letters dealt with the moral dimension of professional life. For example, Judge John Milligan ’52
wrote about how lawyers need to develop the ethical resources to resist a moral
degradation that might otherwise too easily follow from life in a competitive
commercial world. In a related
vein, Albert Donohue ’36 wrote at length about the centrality of integrity to
the life of the lawyer. And I
believe that “integrity” is indeed an appropriate character trait to adopt as
my next theme.
The word “integrity”
has multiple connotations. The
integrity of a ship’s hull is the integrity of completeness: no holes, nothing missing. The integrity of a chemical solution is
the integrity of purity: no
adulterants, nothing extraneous.
In an attorney, it is usually understood to connote moral soundness,
uprightness, honesty, sincerity, and a commitment to fair dealing. It is often thought to be most strongly
implicated in acts of communication.
Thus, a lawyer with integrity is honest and keeps his or her promises.
Scholars of professional responsibility have long debated the way great lawyers reconcile the demands of sincere and truthful communication with the role demands of lawyer-as-advocate and lawyer-as-negotiator. I look forward to having occasions to discuss some of those issues with you during the coming year. And I also look forward to exploring this theme at the institutional level. What does it mean to say that a law school is “complete,” “pure,” and “morally sound”?
