I just can’t help but notice that lawyers and law students alike have earned a bad reputation from the general public. While I still believe the prestige of the legal profession is intact and many still think highly of lawyers, I’ve also observed that plenty of people outside the profession think poorly of us. We're often collectively labeled as prideful, dishonest, or at least as people who don’t tell the whole truth, withhold information, or manipulate others. And I believe this behavior has been deeply ingrained in us through law school and the legal profession’s culture. While I understand how these traits can be useful in the courtroom, I believe we should leave them within the bounds of our profession and not carry them into our personal lives (as a general rule, with exceptions).

From our first year of law school, we’ve been trained to reason well, spot issues, build strong arguments, and wield the spoken word to our advantage. But that doesn’t mean we need to apply these skills in our everyday lives. Yes, it’s okay to admit fault without having to justify or defend your actions. Yes, we should be accountable for our mistakes. No, it’s not right to treat people, especially your partner, like a witness you’re cross-examining whenever you find inconsistencies in their statements. Yes, we can communicate respectfully and allow others the chance to explain themselves (due process, if you will). No, we don’t have to argue with everyone we meet - civil, respectful discourse should be our goal.

I know it can be hard to separate these traits from who we are, especially when we’ve been taught to eat, live, and breathe the law. I’m not saying we should never apply these skills in our personal lives, but we must learn when it’s appropriate to do so. I’ve been there myself—feeling prideful and enjoying the satisfaction of being right. I know I can argue with people and win. But we shouldn’t be doing that with those we care about. We must remember that the people in our personal lives aren’t clients nor the opposing counsel. We need to learn to separate our professional life from our personal one.

Our legal training is invaluable, but it doesn’t need to define every aspect of who we are. In learning to compartmentalize these traits, we can still choose to lead with empathy and grace. Ika nga nila, we have to be very mindful, very considerate, and very demure.

Lol thanks for listening to my TED Talk.