Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles

It was a solemn and serious occasion.  I did not take it lightly at all.  

I felt very moved by the whole experience and pondered my abilities to fulfill the oath/affirmation I took before the Louisiana Supreme Court as I was admitted to the Louisiana Bar.

My 16"x25" Louisiana license to practice law reads:

the Honorable Pascal F. Calogero, Jr. Chief Justice
the Honorable Walter F. Marcus, Jr. Associate Justice
the Honorable James L. Dennis Associate Justice
the Honorable Jack Crozier Watson Associate Justice
the Honorable Harry T. Lemmon Associate Justice
the Honorable Luther F. Cole Associate Justice
the Honorable Pike Hall, Jr. Associate Justice

of the Supreme Court.

It is hereby Certified That

Dee O'Neil Andrews

Esquire, after examination by the Examining Committee, was found well and sufficiently qualified to practice as Attorney and Counselor at Law, in the several Courts of the State, and was admitted, licensed and sworn accordingly.

Given under our Hands and Seals at the City of New Orleans, this sixteenth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-two and in the two hundred and seventeenth year of the Independence of the Untied States of America.

[Seal of the Supreme Court of the State of Louisiana on the left - the Justices' signatures on the right.]

Supreme Court of the State of Louisiana 

I, Dee O'Neil Andrews, do solemnly swear or affirm I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Louisiana; I will maintain the respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers; I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceeding  which shall appear to me to be unjust, or any defense except such as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law of the land; I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law; I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my client, and will accept no compensation in connection with a client's business except from the client or with the client's knowledge and approval; I will abstain from all offensive personality, and will advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged; I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay any person's cause for lucre or malice.

[My signature on the right.]
Sworn to or affirmed in open court, at the City of New Orleans,
on this the sixteenth day of October, A.D. 1992. 

[Signature of the Clerk of Court.]

I did not know it at the time, but I would be appearing before the seven justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court again in less than two months to argue a case I was working for and with another attorney.  I was working on a Writ of Certiorari to the Court in a case the other attorney had lost at trial and had lost at the appellate level.  Neither he, nor my boss "Tim" had ever had a writ of certiorari granted by the Louisiana Supreme Court, so when mine was accepted soon after I was admitted to the bar, it was a huge deal.

More about that later, though.  For today - think about the words of the oath/affirmation above and share with me in comments below how that fits in with what you think about attorneys in general and/or those you know personally and if this changes your perspective any.  I consider the charges I took to be highly moral and relevant to my life in every aspect.  Going to law school and becoming an attorney added new dimensions to my life that were not there before.  I gained great respect for our courts and legal system overall and those who practice law and are officers of the court.  

Your thoughts?!  Please comment.

Thanks!  Dee

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