Rucker: I think the profession has always, kind of in a sense, mirrored society, and when the flow of society changes then the profession, in some ways, changes. Since 9/11, and since the advent of the internet and things like that, we’ve created. And of course, immigration has become a big issue, and internet law has become a huge issue, and bankruptcy and those types of things will continue to be issues as the economy slows down and we see different changes. So I think in many ways the profession will just reflect what’s happening in society and the natural course of things is that the lawyers will be there to assist in those areas. Well, I thought about this particular topic and said, “now where do you start,” and now I’m having trouble figuring out where to stop. It’s almost as if there’s a myriad of topics that we could go into. Is there an area that we haven’t discussed that you guys had in your mind that you would like to bring up? Ramsay: I think it’s interesting that if you’re talking about the way and what’s going to happen to the profession in the future, I’ll go back to what we were talking about it becoming more of a business than a profession. As I said earlier, we police ourselves and our Supreme Court recognizes that issue and a few years ago they instituted a requirement that young lawyers participate. John mentioned the Bridging the Gap requirement, which is a good springboard into the private practice of law, or any practice of law for that matter. Then the Supreme Court has added to that that young people participate in a daylong seminar on professionalism that re-instills
in them the importance of civility in the profession as well as the ethical considerations that have to be always in the front of your mind. And I think that’s a good step. Things cycle in any part of anybody’s life, and the law profession would be that way too, and what I expect is to see a return to professionalism in fairly short order, because of the stringent requirements that we are putting on ourselves. Thoughts about the future? Stroud: I think that we have a lot of very fine lawyers coming out of law school. I think the challenges are there and I’m enough of an optimist to believe that the lawyers will assist in overcoming the problem. I just think they are very large. They are much more tremendous and daunting than the issues that I faced. I think it will work out, it’s just going to be slow and difficult. But the legal profession is healthy. When I look at the requirements of this law school committee that Rick made reference to, and compared them to what it required to go to law school when I did – when I finished high school it was two years of college and I guess a C average, and my goodness – you couldn’t even get an application now. It’s the cream of the crop who are going to law school so I think the results will show that – and have in recent years, more so than maybe earlier. Rucker: The law intersects every aspect of life and I think that even with the rising increase in the cost of tuition and those things, it’s the best money that I’ve ever spent. I think it not only prepares you for a career in the practice of law, it just prepares you for life. And I think that our generations are going to stand up and do what they need to do to
protect society. That’s what we’re here for and that’s what we’re here to do—to help advance the administration of justice, to ensure that we help to uphold the Constitution of the United States and that we do everything we can to make sure that every citizen in this country gets due process protection of the law and that definitely won’t change. Endnotes 1. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is a feature program of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Public Radio station KUAR FM 89.1. The program offers perspectives on various topics through the eyes of three different generations. The topic of the August 5, 2008, edition was Lawyers. 2. Judge John F. Stroud, Jr. of Texarkana served on the Arkansas Supreme Court for one year in 1980 and on the Arkansas Court of Appeals from 1996 through 2004, the last four years as chief judge. Since retiring from the Court of Appeals in 2004, he has worked as a mediator and arbitrator for ADR Inc. He served as President of the Arkansas Bar Association in 1987-1988. 3. Richard L. Ramsay of Little Rock is a partner at Eichenbaum Liles P.A. where his practice consists of Commercial Litigation and Creditors Rights/Banking Law. He served as President of the Arkansas Bar Association in 2007-2008. He is part-owner of ADR, Inc. where he is a mediator and arbitrator. 4. Gwendolyn L. Rucker is a law clerk to Judge Jerome T. Kearney, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. She served as chair of the Arkansas Bar Association Young Lawyers Section in 2007-2008. n
Vol. 47 No. 2/Spring 2012 The Arkansas Lawyer
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