Summary

At Texas A&M University, I have developed ethics skills that I expect will help me succeed in the legal field. Attorneys must use ethics skills to lead legal teams, build rapport with juries and judges, and justly represent their clients. The ethics skills I have developed through my work with the Student Affairs Fee Advisory Board, Capstone, and the Aggie Orientation Leader Program include ethical leadership, respect, and justice.

Why is ethical leadership important for attorneys?

Lawyers must use ethical leadership to protect the integrity of the legal system as they represent clients and as they lead legal teams throughout trials. Ethical leadership means leading by example and making the decisions that are in the best interest of the team and client, which I have practiced while on the Student Affairs Fee Advisory Board (SAFAB). Each member of the board is assigned to serve as a liaison for two to three departments during budget deliberations. As the chair, I learned how to balance my loyalty to my departments with the best interest of the student body in budgetary decisions. For example, once my department asked for something that I did not believe to be in the best interest of the student body, so I was inclined to vote against it. Before deliberations, I respectfully informed my department that I would not be voting for the position and explained why. Later I explained to my fellow board members my reasoning behind my position and my conversation with the department I believe that my ethical leadership and ability to put the best interest of the student body at the forefront of my decisions led to strong fiscal recommendations.

Why is respect important for attorneys?

Respect is at the forefront of the legal system. Attorneys must be respectful of juries and judges to establish rapport to maximize their clients’ odds in court. Respect involves listening to others, valuing others’ contributions, being compassionate, and being generous while considering opposing viewpoints. By participating in Capstone, I practiced using respect amongst team disagreements. Throughout Capstone meetings, I made it a point to understand other views, be compassionate in my feedback, and value other’s contributions. For example, when a disagreement among group members arose on how to handle a project decision, I listened to both sides of the argument and responded with patience and respect to resolve the conflict successfully.

Why is justice important in the legal field?

Attorneys need to be just so that they can represent their clients to the best of their ability, regardless of factors such as gender, ethnicity, or nationality. Being just means upholding a set of standards, which requires treating everyone fairly and equally. I practiced this during my time in the Aggie Orientation Leader Program. During my time as an Executive Team member, we had to make the hard decision to let a member go because they were not meeting expectations. It was a difficult decision because it was a close friend of mine, so of course, I wanted her to stay. But I had to be just in my decision to let her go regardless of our friendship because she was not meeting expectations. I believe that my ability to be just in my treatment of my friend contributed to a more productive organization.

Ethics skills will serve me well in the legal field

Through my experience, I have learned valuable ethics skills, including ethical leadership, respect, and justice. These skills will help my future career as an attorney as I lead trial teams, build relationships with juries and judges, and represent my clients equally.