I welcome your energy and your involvement. You are entering a professionalization process more than simply attending school. In the classroom, in your preparation for class, in your study groups, and in your contact with our outstanding faculty in and out of class, you should be intellectually curious, recognizing that the problems that will confront you in three or four decades of practice in the 21st century will involve new legal issues, new legal theories, and new legal institutions, not simply the ones the interested scholars, advocates, and designers of legal institutions in the 19th and 20th centuries. Take advantage of the cutting edge thinking that our faculty brings to Chicago-Kent into the profession. Take advantage of Chicago-Kent s professional environment in order to improve your skills at empathy, persuasiveness, and professional civility.
Professionalism involves effectiveness in the real-world.
As lawyers, you will be agents of change, whether you seek to win a case in court, design the capital structure of a new corporate entity, build a new international legal institution, or help a client cope with a personal crisis. It is, in a sense, about altruism. Practice altruism while you are practicing the other traits that will make you an effective lawyer. I look forward to working with you to continue to make Chicago-Kent a stimulating experience and to make sure all of us are well positioned to participate in an evolving legal system that serves the needs of society and raises its aspirations.