It is never too soon nor too late to talk with law students, law professors, and lawyers about professionalism and ethics. Using my walking cane as a pointer, let us unveil this painting and see what it reveals. Integrity is the rock-bottom foundation upon which the lawyer builds his career. It is the sine qua non - the without which nothing. The lawyer must be as clean as a hound's tooth and represent the high watermark in character.
Credibility is established slow, how slowly.
All others come slowly. A strange concomitant is that credibility, established so slowly, can be lost in an instant. One serious indiscretion, one slipping of the foot, one betrayal of a confidence reposed by a client, one reneging on a stipulation with counsel, and it is completely lost. And, once lost, it is never regained with its pristine purity. A bird with a broken pinion never soars so high again.