2017: How can we be a bit better?

Throughout this year that is drawing to a close, we are presenting the “Auris” project, an initiative born out of the enthusiasm of a group of lawyers who firmly believe that the legal profession can (and must) reinvent itself. We are launching a brand whose cornerstone is a set of values – values based on honesty and an ethical commitment to the client – values that must serve as the guiding principles of our profession, a profession which, unfortunately, is not particularly well regarded by the general public.

As we approach the end of our first year in business, we wanted to ask ourselves whether we are managing to meet our most difficult challenge: to be seen as a firm that is, above all, honest and ethical.

What are values, really?

Values are the deep-seated convictions of human beings that shape who they are and guide their behaviour. They are what define us, first as individuals, and then as professionals. They define us not only on the inside, but also in the eyes of society.
A lack of values breeds mistrust. A person or company with questionable values is bound to be found out sooner or later, and the result is that we humans stop trusting one another.

What are honesty and ethical commitment?

Honesty and ethical commitment are fundamental values, deeply rooted in human nature, yet at the same time immensely powerful from our point of view. In our profession, they are fundamental. They mean always telling the client the truth, whilst prioritising the achievement of their objectives, their wellbeing and their peace of mind. Telling the truth, even if it hurts, or even if it harms our business.
Lawyers, like doctors, provide a service in which clients place themselves in our hands to prevent or resolve a crisis or a problem. Clients must trust us. To this end, it is essential and fundamental that we exercise complete transparency in the practice of our profession.

Are we experiencing a crisis of values?

Day after day, the media bring us examples of people, companies, politicians and even institutions that manipulate and appeal to people’s kindness or sense of need in order to achieve their own ends: parents who lie about their children’s health or their own health to make a profit, scams targeting the elderly and vulnerable, corporate or pyramid schemes, abusive and non-transparent banking practices, political and administrative corruption, etc.

A lack of values is and continues to be in the news, which means it is not widespread, but rather the exception. The problem is that it makes us distrustful of the world. It is not good for people to use such news as a basis for distrusting everything and everyone. One should be cautious and sceptical in moderation, but one cannot go through life being generally distrustful.

Anyone with money to invest will need to rely on their bank to make the best decision. If they have a problem, they may need a solicitor to help resolve it. That solicitor might fall ill and need a doctor to help them get better. And that doctor will probably one day need to buy or sell a flat and will have to rely on their estate agent.
Trust (particularly in certain professionals) is essential for society to function.

As we see it, we are not experiencing a crisis of values. There are, and always will be, people with stronger values than others, but (at the risk of being labelled optimists) we genuinely believe that there are more people who have values than those who lack them. Perhaps we are, in fact, experiencing a widespread crisis of confidence, caused by that minority which, unfortunately, makes so much noise.

So, what should our next goal be?

Building trust. This is our greatest challenge. We can only achieve this through our day-to-day work, by demonstrating the values that drive us. By showing that we tell the truth, even when it hurts. By doing everything we can to achieve our clients’ objectives. Advising on what is best for the client, not for our firm. Helping them make the decisions we ourselves would make. Advising them just as we would advise our closest family members.

We hope that all of us (lawyers, economists, doctors, the banking sector, the civil service, etc.) will be able to rise to this challenge by 2017. May we all be guided by positive values. May we show a little more empathy in our work. May we gradually regain the trust of our potential clients.

If we are guided by the right values, it is highly likely that, each in our own field, we will make the best possible decisions in everything we do, even if it does not seem that way in the short term.

Happy 2017 to you all.

Auris Advocats