TFP BLOG: November 2012

Sunday, November 25, 2012

#2 in our Mentee series: Michael Gasi

Many people in our NYCLA community have been hit very hard by storm Sandy. Our thoughts are with you during the extended cleanup and hope that the return to normal is swift.

Due to Sandy, we have made some scheduling changes with the mentoring program and will be starting the new session in January. In anticipation of that and as we think about giving our time to less-experienced members of the bar, I am posting a piece from Michael Gasi. It is the second post from a mentee-participants in NYCLA's mentoring program.

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When I sent in my application for the NYCLA Mentoring program, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that I was a young lawyer with very few solid relationships in the profession and a whole lot to learn. A year later I have developed a tremendous lasting relationship with an experienced, knowledgeable, compassionate and affable lawyer who has made sure that I am not alone in this huge world.

From my particular experience, it was very easy to feel isolated and alone. Though I had networked and developed some relationships, I wasn't always comfortable reaching out to those individuals for a variety of reasons.

Although I barely knew my mentor at first, she made sure I felt welcomed. She invited me out to lunch with her and, at times, with her and her colleagues. Like a family member, my mentor accepted me as is. I no longer had to fear being judged if I had a question a more experienced attorney would consider rudimentary. She became my source of knowledge and wisdom that filled the gaps between the books, the statutes, the caselaw and the courtroom.

I'm deeply thankful to NYCLA for helping me form this relationship. I have no doubt it will last for the remainder of my professional career. I look forward to the day I can pay it forward and mentor a young lawyer such as myself. I'm confident that day will come, now that I have such a great example to follow.

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Michael Gasi is a solo practitioner located in Queens running a general practice.

NYCLA DRAFT DEFINITION OF PROFESSIONALISM

By professionalism we mean a group pursuing a learned art as a higher calling in a spirit that it is performing a public service, a service that is indispensible in a democratic nation founded on the rule of law. This calling is no less a public service because it may also be a means of livelihood. Pursuit of a learned art in the spirit of a public service is the essence of being a lawyer. It implies obligations of dignity, integrity, self-respect and respect for others.

The essence of professionalism is a commitment to develop one's skills to the fullest and to apply them responsibly and with the utmost diligence to the problem at hand. Professionalism requires adherence to the highest standards of integrity and a willingness to subordinate narrow self-interest in pursuit of the more fundamental goal of client service. Because of the tremendous power they wield in our system, lawyers must never forget that their duty to serve their clients fairly and skillfully takes priority over the personal accumulation of wealth. Lawyers must be willing and prepared to undertake zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients while retaining enough perspective to provide those clients with considered, well-informed and objective advice.

Although duties to their clients in particular matters are paramount, lawyers must throughout their careers remain conscious of and committed to the goal of improving the profession and the system of justice. This commitment includes taking personal and professional measures to increase the availability of legal services and abet even-handed and efficient application and administration of the legal system for all segments of society.