I.EGAL PROFES..
:;ION
186
ge netic an d bioscienti fic pri nciples to ethics. as well a s to
legal a nd social doctrines.
Fifth, because it enjoys j udicia l independence, it can ente r
into bilateral and internat ional agreements with the judicial
a uthorities of other cou n tries, as Justi ce Dube is proposing,
without need of ap proval of a ny other age ncy of govern me nt.
Epilogue: New Ways or Discovering Truth
Let my conclude by saying tha t Time magazin e, in its
Novem ber 13, 2000 issue, re ported tha t in the United States,
80 convicts by final judgmen ts ha ve la ter on bee n exonerated
because subseque nt DNA eviden ce had shown that they were
com plete ly innocent of the crimes attributed to them .
If this ha s hap pened in the US, the most technologically
a nd economically a dva nced na tion in the world, then it has
probably happened in the Philippines and other countrie s. I
shudder to think that during th e la st five (5) years, our trial
courts ha ve impo sed on more than 1,500 persons the pen alty
of dea th _ a pen alty which, incidentally, I personally oppose
on constitutional and philosophical grounds.
Th e availa bility of new bre akthroughs in science and
technology and the positive re sponse of the judicature sho uld
make us more confide nt that in the future, mistakes in the
discovery of truth can be minimized, if not totally avoide d.
1 thank you ,
AkTICLES ON THE LEGAL r ROF F <;SION 187
Legal Ego,. on the Loose"
By
Atty. Mike Papantonio'"
In my research for a new book about the unhealthy ef-
fects of a mbition and ego in the lega l profes sion, 1 sent 8
questionnaire to more tha n 500 lawyers throughou t America.
Wh at 1 found is that lawyers, on the whole are dissatisfied
with wh a t they ha ve and a re striving for m ore.
More than 70 pe rcent sa id they did no t feel financi ally
secure today, a nd they weren't sure they e ve r woul d. Yet a bout
40 percent of that gro up had incomes of $150 ,000 to $300,000.
Perhaps recognizing tha t the quest for money h a s a downside,
more than 90 percent of a ll respondents a greed th a t "a mbition
within our profession clearly has the pote ntia l to take on an
addictive nature."
A handwritten note in one envelope e labo ra ti ng on this
cau ght my a ttention. Here is what it said, in a shortened form :
"I sa w a nothe r one of those articles where a handful of
lawyers were bragging about the multimillions they made. They
were posed in front of their pal ati al estates, bragging about
wh at they owned and wh at they were going to buy . ..
- I can honestly say 1 felt absolutely no envy as I looked
a t those pictures and read that article. H owever, as I read on,
I did pa use to wonder wh eth er I had some de fect in my makeup
or character as a lawyer. 1 wondered wh ether I wa s mi ssin g
some vital h elix in an important DNA st rand tha t should be
pu shing me to wa nt more prestige, more power, more wealt h,"
More, More, More Mania
Wha t thi s la wyer may ha ve see n in that a rti cle has been
cha ra cterized by Ken Keyes and other modern thinkers as
"Published in the Lawyer '. Review, Vol. XIII , 31 October 1999 .
"Head of ma llll Iort de pt. at Levin, Middlebroolui, Thoma •• Mitchi'll,
Gree n, Echsner, Proctor & Papanlonio, Peneeeole, Fl cri d e , USA.
168 L.EGAL 1'}{(lJo'ESSION ARTICLES ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION 169

a ddictive a mbition . Accordi on to Keyes , addictive ambition Wisdom of the Weasel

flows from a desire to obtain more security a nd power than we
really n eed . We are not satisfied with acquiring eno ug h mon ... y Another, less positive s pin on the Type A la wyer co uld
for ou r retirement years. Instead , we program ourselves to probably be found some where between t he lines of one of
be lieve tha t h a ving enough h appe ns on ly when we h a ve more Aesop's lesser-known fables, The Rat and th e Weasel.
tha n t he other guy. "One day, a very hungry rat came upon a wooden crate
In my view, most of us never get to that pl ace where our tilled with corn. H is on ly way to th e com wa s to sq uee ze hi s
pursu it of security or power is quieted a nd we accept the place body throu gh a tiny hole in the wood. He a te com until h e coul d
in th e world we actua lly occupy. Instead, we are us ually dri ven eat no more, but he wa s a fraid that someone may com e along
a nd haul a way t his crate of com , so he ate even more. He ate so
by vision s of t h e pla ce we wa nt to occ u py someday.
much of t he com tha t h is once t iny body became so big that h e
Th e pos itive s pin on that , of cou rse, is to say that we a rc could not tit through the same ope ning t h at h e h a d entered.
hi ghly mot iva ted , th at we are Type A ove rachievers. Perhaps Th e plump rat cou ld onl y fit h is h ead t h ro ugh t h e hole in the
we fee l a se nse of pride well up in sid e wh en we a re referred crate, so h e sat there t rap ped, crying ou t for help.
to as movers and shake rs or rain make rs, m aybe even masters
"A wea sel noticed the commotion a t t he corn crate a n d
of t he game.
came by to speak to the fat little rat. The rat expected help
Bu t t hat spin ignores less flattering trai ts that ofte n and sympa t hy, but in stead, the wea sel s tated the obvious:
s u rface when lawyers seek more powe r a nd more ac quisitio ns : 'You hav e eate n much more corn than you really needed ,
haven't you ?' The weasel then we nt hi s way a nd left the fat
• Most of the time , t hey a re willing to defer enjoy- rat in hi s dangerous predicament."
m ent of the possessions they now have whil e they
work to obtain more or bigger possessions.
• T hey ca n not feel content until th eir family, fri ends
a nd peers acknowledge t heir ac hieveme nts .
• Once they exce l, th ey mentally ra ise their expecta-
tion s of what they h ave to ach ieve or accomplish
next .
• Often they arc wor king to wa rd a point in their lives
when th ey believe th ey won't h a ve to answer to a ny
hi ghe r a uthority, perhaps a ti me when they are
sec ure or powerful enough to snub or igno re the
rest of t he wo rld.
• T hey often l OMe sig ht of t he intri nsic value of the
aspects of life t hat do no pay a fin ancia l divid end,
s uc h as friendships a nd fa mily.
• As t hey com pete for a higger share of secu ri ty or
power, t hey ta ke on rne-vs.-them atti t u de.