The Fall and Rise of Professionalism

In recent years, there has been an increasing concern among lawyers that the legal profession may be declining in "professionalism." Professionalism is not a self-defining term; indeed, it is greatly overused today. There are professional football players, professional models and even professional wrestlers. The question, then, is what it means to be a professional for purposes of trying to decide whether lawyers are more professional or less professional than before. Although several definitions might be offered, I would assert that traditional professions seem to have at least three attributes.