Mills helps draft Statement on Professionalism for North Carolina Business Lawyers
Anna S. Mills, an attorney with The Van Winkle Law Firm, has helped draft a Statement on Professionalism for North Carolina Business Lawyers. As co-chair of the Ethics Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association, she worked with other committee members on the statement. It was adopted at the end of February by the Business Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and distributed to all members of the section. The statement reads as follows:
STATEMENT ON PROFESSIONALISM
FOR NORTH CAROLINA BUSINESS LAWYERS
This Statement on Professionalism describes aspirational professional goals for business lawyers in North Carolina. The Statement’s principles should serve as a reminder to experienced lawyers and a guide to newer lawyers of ways to practice business law that enhance the reputation of business lawyers in North Carolina. The goals described in the Statement are in addition to the North Carolina State Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct and do not establish a basis for discipline or standards of conduct.
Service to the Client
I will endeavor to continually develop my legal knowledge, professional skills and understanding of my clients’ businesses and the environment in which they operate. In the course of representing my clients, I also will endeavor to understand and be guided by my clients’ principal business goals and objectives. I will seek to explain all relevant legal issues to my clients and advise them of the important legal risks. I will strive to achieve efficiencies in time and legal expense.
Working with Other Lawyers
I will be professional and courteous toward other lawyers during negotiations and other interactions. When making transactional due diligence requests, I will endeavor to request only relevant and necessary information appropriate to the size and scope of the transaction. I will strive to draft documents that reflect the agreement of the parties and that are appropriate for the transaction. If called for, when exchanging documents with other lawyers, I will clearly mark any revisions. When requesting a legal opinion or responding to a request for a legal opinion, I will follow the “Golden Rule” enunciated n the American Bar Association’s Guidelines for the preparation of Closing Opinions.(1) I will seek to ensure that all signed documents in my control are in the form agreed to by the parties involved.
Service to the Legal Profession
I will endeavor to participate in the continuing business legal education and training of other lawyers and law students. I also will strive to participate in organized bar activities to improve business laws.
Pro Bono Service
I will strive to contribute to business development in North Carolina by providing pro bono business legal services to deserving individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
(1) 57 Bus. Law. 875 (2002).