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Making Civility Mandatory: Moving From Aspired To Required, David A. Grenardo

Faculty Articles

Despite the rise of voluntary civility codes and calls for professionalism, incivility persists in the legal profession. The practice of law is a privilege, not a right, and attorneys must be held to a higher standard of conduct as a lawyer is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system, and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice. The time for mandatory civility has long come, and all state bars should follow the lead of the few jurisdictions that have made civility mandatory.

This article examines what civility is, its importance, and the problem …