Dear Colleagues,
I would like to take advantage of this welcome address to outline the essential elements of the work carried out by the Commission on “The future of the lawyer”.
At the outset, I would highlight the very title of the Commission’s work. It is not a study of the future “of the profession”, as a function within the justice system; it is rather the future "of the lawyer", with a focus on the lawyer’s own personal actions within the performance of their professional ethical duties. It is about the person in defense of a person.
This perspective has forced us to make a joint effort to preserve the essential elements of the lawyer’s role in the face of a predictably revolutionary future comprised of basic structural shifts, deep social changes, and core challenges to our middle classes, something that has always posed problems of societal discord. Indeed, this demanding future is already upon us.
What formalism will remain in the conduct of our guarantees?
How will respect for process survive in an environment increasingly bound to immediacy?
How much of our advisory function will be converted into a simple commodity?
The Commission on "The future of the lawyer" has reflected on these and other pressing questions, resulting in a reasoned discussion centered on a community / brotherhood that must itself focus on the changes necessary to preserve the core values of their profession.
I wish to pay a heartfelt tribute to Huguette ANDRE-CORET, Bernard CAHEN, Luis DELGADO DE MOLINA HERNANDEZ and Gérald TREMBLAY, my predecessors in the leadership of the work of this Commission and who continue to join me and the Commission with their advice and active participation. It is a tremendous responsibility to continue with the work they have carried out. This is not, however, a task that should be or is taken alone. On the contrary, the common reflection and the integration of the experiences from different regions make this task especially interesting and enriching.
I hope to rely on your support and work in the Commission.
I welcome you all to “the future of the lawyer”.
Urquiola DE PALACIO
President of the Commission
Palacio & Asociados
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