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"Focus on Professionalism"
by: Barry H. Grodsky
Louisiana Bar Journal
June/July 2007
Moderating the Loyola University Law School professionalism program for third-year law students were, from left, Bobby Delise, Sandra Cosby, Ray Steib and Rob Barnett. Photo by William N. King
The Louisiana State Bar Association's (LSBA) Professionalism and Quality of Life Committee has implemented a new program to increase awareness of professionalism in the state's law schools. This program, which has been designed for third-year students, will supplement the program now presented by this committee for incoming freshman law students.
Louisiana is only one of a very few states offering this program to third-year students. The program is modeled after the third-year professionalism program in Georgia, in conjunction with material prepared by Emory Law School. In the first-year program, the incoming freshman are greeted with presentations by members of the committee, a LSBA officer and a member of the Louisiana Supreme Court. The students are then assigned to smaller discussion groups where hypotheticals are reviewed and discussed, offering students an initial look at issues of professionalism and ethics.
While the third-year program follows this general process, it is actually much more structured as the presentations are kept to a minimum. Rather than having the students review and discuss hypotheticals, issues of professionalism and ethics are presented in a concise video with seven related scenes. The video covers issues which attorneys face throughout different aspects of one case.
Volunteer moderators engage the students interactively about the scenes designed to raise issues about professionalism and ethics. The students are asked how they would react in similar circumstances. The moderators explain to the students that, in the practice of law, there frequently are no right or wrong answers and that attorneys must be guided by multiple factors including their professional and ethical duties to their clients, to other members of the bar and to their own firm.
By the time the students have reached their third year, through what they have been taught in their classes, what many have gained by working during law school and by a general sense of what they perceive to be the practice of law, they begin to get a better sense of what professionalism is and why it is so important. This is why the committee feels so strongly about this presentation.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina delayed the full implementation of the new program. But, this past year, the program was successfully conducted at Loyola University Law School and Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. While the first-year orientation program is mandatory, this third-year program is purely voluntary. The committee is now looking at ways to increase student attendance at this voluntary program.
All moderators who have worked with this third-year program have agreed that the program is a valuable learning guide for the students. They have been encouraged by the interaction of the students with the moderators and the students' level of participation. Moderators said it was insightful to not only get feedback from students about professional and ethical issues but also to see how the students' mindsets had changed on many of these issues from their impressions as incoming freshmen to how these issues should be considered and handled as outgoing third-year students.
The Professionalism and Quality of Life Committee is committed to raising the awareness and levels of professionalism not just among attorneys but among those who will soon become attorneys. It is important that these concepts are brought to the attention of the students early in their legal careers, specifically while still in law school. The committee hopes to have this program implemented in the state's four law schools in the upcoming academic year and welcomes volunteers to participate on these panels.
Although no dates are set for future programs, the committee is accepting inquiries from volunteers for its first-year and third-year programs. Anyone wanting to participate in these programs or having questions should contact Barry H. Grodsky, vice chair of the Professionalism and Quality of Life Committee, at bgrodsky@midrid.com or (504) 207-7355
City Business
Leader's in Law 2008
by:Robin Shannon
Ray Steib
Position: solo practice owner
Age: 50
Family: wife, Tish; and children, Sydney, 11, Jack, 9
Education: bachelor's degree, Loyola University; juris doctor, Loyola University School of Law
Before making the jump into the legal realm, Ray Steib had a notion of entering the priesthood.
"I had gone to a seminary prep high school, and I always wanted to follow a career path that helps people," Steib said. "When I realized that becoming a priest was not exactly right for me, I looked into a career in law."
Steib began his practice in 1983, fresh out of law school, with a goal of assisting ordinary people in their ordinary lives.
"I like to describe my work as helping little people with big problems. Most of my clients come to me with a problem that they just don't know how to handle. Knowing that I can make such a difference in these people's lives, whether it be a custody battle, a bankruptcy issue or whatever, that is what gives me the energy to continue."
Steib said his practice does not handle any high-profile cases and could not recall any notable or memorable cases, only that the majority of his career achievements have come by way of his work in the community.
In 2004, as a way of furthering professionalism among lawyers, Steib and about four other attorneys started the John Boutall American Inn of Court in Jefferson Parish.
"The Inn of Court system is a movement that originally started in London where older lawyers mentor younger lawyers just beginning their careers," he said. "Civility among attorneys in this area had been on the decline, and my partners and I felt that this would be a good way to influence a more professional atmosphere."
Steib is a member of the St. Thomas Moore Catholic Lawyers Association, and also serves on the board of the South Louisiana Legal Services Corp., a group dedicated to providing legal services to the poor. He said a growing population cannot afford good legal help, and the firm is making a difference to give those people the help they need.
"There is an old joke about legal help only being as good as what you can afford. It is a sad but true reality and something I would like to work on changing."
Steib is a member of the state and local bar associations and past president of the Jefferson Bar Association. He plans on making a run at Division K judge in Jefferson Parish.
