Cornelius Nolen: Raising Qualifications: More Than Professional Improvement, But an Ability to Help People
Cornelius Nolen is an American lawyer.
This text is about the communication with the legal community; the advantages of joining several professional associations; obtaining advocate’s accreditation and skills improvement in a particular field of legal practice; how the lawyers’ training improve their practice; pro-bono legal aid.
In the United States, admission to any professional organization is not mandatory. But most lawyers join the American Bar Association because of the membership benefits. Moreover, American lawyers become members of several organizations at several levels: state, county, and even cities, depending on the field of their particular knowledge and professional activities.
The peculiarity of US law associations is that they are all legal entities registered as LLCs or non-profit organizations. As legal entities, they may act as plaintiffs or defendants in courts. Therefore, associations are committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in their work and structure. Each association establishes its own membership fees, which in some cases may be reduced or withdrawn. For example, if a lawyer works as a public defender in the public interest, and this does not bring him any significant income. Or if the lawyer works in a nonprofit organization.
Lawyers in the United States obtain necessary accreditation to work in a particular state or in a particular legal field. But all lawyers from all states are obliged to constantly improve their professional qualifications. In some states, this requirement applies to one major professional ethics course. In other states, this means professional retraining with a certain periodicity. Without timely in-service training, the attorney loses the right to practice and the national association removes his/her membership. Further trainings are being developed and conducted by legal counsels and associations of relevant accreditation levels. Attorneys at their discretion choose the areas in which they want to enhance the qualifications and lectures they will listen to.
Professional development is not only an opportunity to improve knowledge in law, but also the ability to apply such knowledge in practice to help people. In such trainings, attorneys under the mentoring of expert tutors solve practical cases. Law firms conclude agreements with law associations, and direct their employees for several weeks’ trainings. It helps them to comply with regulatory obligations to provide free legal aid and, at the same time, builds their image as socially responsible companies.
This is a brief description of the lecture. To learn more about the experience of the United States Bar Association, please watch the video.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program, the Ukrainian Bar Association, the Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers, the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, the Canadian Bureau for International Education, or the Government of Canada.
