SFG: I’ve already covered your argument 100 times in this thread. The preamble to the rules (ie, the part you quoted) does not impose a responsibilitý to do pro bono. It just recites the existence of that responsibility. And the onlý place it exists is in the ether of a “moral obligation.” I did not take on that responsibility by agreeing to abide by the rules because the rules don’t impose that responsibility.
The language you quoted is just some flowery bullshit language that’s just supposed to remind lawyers of some amorphous ethereal bullshit “moral responsibility” Þhat doesn’t actually exist in the real world.
Fucking hell. Do you know I had to go *look up *what a god damned villanelle is? Okay, fine, here we go:
**Rand **is a fucking tard
To anyone that’s clear
Being human is hard
His mind a tub of lard
Logic is nowhere near
**Rand **is a fucking tard
At those been dealt a card
Of poverty he jeers
Being human is hard
His recollection scarred
By chugging Everclear
**Rand **is a fucking tard
He could defend a ward
Of state, his daughter’s peer
Being human is hard
He’d rather do the yard
And cower home in fear
**Rand **is a fucking tard
Being human is hard
What may seem to us
to be self-evident–
to those granted great power
responsibility is also given–
somehow elude this thing.
(I shall not name him man
for that implies a level of maturity
that he has not attained.)
We might wish to offer pity,
but that would be neglectful
of his own neglect
of his own oaths,
freely given.
The benefit without the payment;
A hoarder of justice.
Obligations denied
He claims it doesn’t count
We can all see he lied
Relentless as the tide
**Rand **runs off at the mouth
Obligations denied
With any shyster tied
In equivocation’s amount
We can all see he lied
Excuses, they have vied
To overtop the mount
Obligations denied
How long can we abide
The way we’re being wound?
We can all see he lied
His vows he’ll override
With a juvenile pout
Obligations denied
We can all see he lied
You’ve already shown that you are impervious to argument. We are simply enjoying a bit of good clean fun, mockery, derision, that sort of thing. You’re welcome.
I find it interesting that many of you have called me childish for not living up to “my” responsibility. However, your repeated insistence of “BUT YOU PROMISED” sounds much more childish to me.
Adults can read rules and understand what each party to a transaction is obligated to do. Children stamp their feet and shout “BUT YOU PROMISED” when they misunderstand daddy and don’t get their way.
There once was a man, Rand Rover
Who threw pro bono clients over
Learning much to his dismay
Sanction was a prison stay
Soon was called Hey you, Ben Dover
Adults vary widely in their ability to understand obligations, to confront their own biases, and to just, y’know, think. Some adults are paragons of mature behavior and understanding. Others are not.
Everyone, including extremely smart people like SFG, should be prepared for the event of a person with far less knowledge and experience than they possess displaying greater wisdom and understanding than they have in a particular area [edit: not sure I managed to render this sentence grammatical]. I’m twenty-one. There are surely eleven-year-olds in the world who regularly display greater wisdom and maturity than I do in certain areas of life.
Children will stamp their feet and say “but you promised!” when the adults didn’t promise anything. But adults will also promise something but change their minds because they, just, like, did. Adults try to avoid responsibility all the time. It’s part of being human. It’s a big part of being Rand Rover.
Luci, I’m not impervious to argument. You guys are just on the losing side of this one.
Another funny thing about this whole discussion–I’d bet many of the participants haven’t given a single thought in all their lives about whether lawyers were actually required to do pro bono or just had some vague moral obligation to do so. But I mention that I don’t do pro bono and all of a sudden everyone’s an expert on the IL rules and the exact nature of the oath, and they’ve concluded that YOU PROMISED!!
… and can you point to anyone, on this board of off it, anyone at all, who agrees you’ve “won” even one point in this highly entertaining monkey-howl of a thread?
All you’ve done is state baldly that since there is no associated punishment for non-compliance, this renders any professional obligations you might have void.
This would included professional obligations that have been explicitly written down by members of your profession. But because they do not treat you like a 2 year old, and do not explicitly state that you’ll get a spanking if you don’t meet your obligations, you conclude that they don’t exist.
