California Attorney Guidelines of Civility and Professionalism

Tonight we revisit the words of Sheldon Sloan, the 2006  President of the California State bar as a forward to the ethics guide.

Some may call me old-fashioned, but I say to them: You can practice the law and do a good job for your client without being rude and aggressive and causing a lot of trouble for everybody. That's why I hope to make my upcoming term as State Bar president a year in which we bring back professionalism, and along with it some public respect.
This should not be difficult. Most of us just need to hearken back to what our moms and dads and schoolteachers tried to instill in us when we were kids and apply it to our chosen profession: A good lawyer doesn't need to schedule depositions when an opponent is out of town on vacation.
A good lawyer doesn't need to serve documents in a way that unfairly limits the other party's opportunity to respond.
Big firm lawyers don't need to try to crush opposing sole practitioners by papering them to death.
And no lawyer should ever make false, misleading or exaggerated statements while grandstanding for the cameras or any other means of reaching the public.
As I said, all just plain common sense.