Lawyers, Loyalty, and the Question of Citizenship Perspectives from the Classroom and from Catholic Social Thought

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s 2007 report titled Educating Lawyers (the 'Carnegie Report') notes the failure of American law schools to prepare lawyers to act as good citizens of our democratic society. This essay relates the experience of two law professors in attempting to address this issue. It begins by pointing out the importance of this aspect of legal education, and then proceeds to report on two classes, one taught by each of professor, that attempts to address the question of lawyerly citizenship on the basis of somewhat divergent theoretical and pedagogical inclinations and concerns. It relates this experience to the teaching of citizenship provided by Catholic Social Thought: a full, proper understanding of the nature and purpose of the state. Because the state orders the associations of society and the loyalties of citizens, it in important ways defines citizenship in theory and practice. Thus, a perspective informed by Catholic Social Thought on the service function of the state provides a framework for ordering the duties and loyalties of the ethical attorney.