The most rewarding part of law school by far has been my leadership experience through Law Women. Law Women was founded at the University of Tennessee College of Law more than fifty years ago in 1973. The organization’s mission is simple: empower women and encourage them to pursue leadership in their future career, no matter what path they take as an attorney. Within this broad goal lies a focus on networking, mentorship, career opportunities, academic success, and education about issues specific to women in the legal field.
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Public Servant First – Lawyer Second
Like many aspiring attorneys, I chose to attend law school driven by a desire to help others and a conviction that serving one’s community is a moral imperative. After all, the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct’s define a lawyer as “an expert in law pursuing a learned art in service to clients and in the spirit of public service.” Yet the demanding realities of legal education—the pressure to excel in grades, secure prestigious clerkships, and later maintain billable hours—can easily obscure these foundational principles. During my final year, however, my “Lawyers as Leaders” course revealed that true professional fulfillment stems not from achievements alone, but from embracing service to others. Through this transformative course and my extensive pro bono work, I’ve discovered key principles that demonstrate how servant leadership remains vital in our profession—principles that I believe will shape our future as lawyer leaders.
Noblesse Oblige: Privilege and Duty
Last week I had the privilege of writing for Lawyers as Leaders. In my prior post, which you should read, I proposed a working definition for leadership as a social process defined by relationships wherein individuals work together to achieve a goal that would otherwise be unachievable on their own. Everyone in an organization or civil society engages with that process differently. This week I am returning to build off that definition and the responsibilities it imposes on our profession.
Anyone who knows me well is aware that I am a bit of a Francophile. At my high school, students were required to choose a foreign language to study. I decided to learn French. While studying one day, I came across the term “Noblesse Oblige.” After googling the unfamiliar phrase, I discovered that Noblesse Oblige, or noble obligation, referred to a cultural tradition in pre-1790s France wherein the nobility practiced a duty of generosity to their serfs. In other words, “privilege entails responsibility.”[1] While modern America has many differences from pre-revolutionary France, except perhaps the continual rise of wealth inequality[2], the concept of Noblesse Oblige remains applicable to the profession of law.
Leading As Lawyers 