1L Professionalism & Civility Program
Start law school by learning how lawyers actually earn trust.
Law school teaches you how to think like a lawyer. But your career will also depend on how you show up for clients, colleagues, and courts.
At Southwestern, we treat professionalism and civility as core lawyering skills, not “nice-to-haves.” They shape your reputation, your relationships, and your effectiveness from day one. That’s why every first-year student completes Southwestern’s 1L Professionalism & Civility Program, with an option to go further and earn a Professionalism & Civility Badge.
What do “professionalism” and “civility” mean—really?
Professionalism is about reliability and responsibility. It means doing what you say you’ll do, being prepared, meeting deadlines, communicating clearly, protecting confidences, and staying honest—even when it’s inconvenient.
Civility is about respect under pressure. It means listening, disagreeing without being disrespectful, staying composed, and treating people with dignity—especially in high-stakes moments.
Together, these habits are how lawyers build credibility. And credibility is currency.
Why we start in the first year
Professional identity isn’t something you “pick up later.” It’s built early—through choices, routines, and how you handle conflict, feedback, time pressure, and teamwork.
This program helps you:
- understand what the profession expects (and why those expectations exist)
- recognize common professionalism and civility challenges before you encounter them in practice
- develop habits that support client trust, strong teamwork, and sound judgment
- practice communicating with clarity and respect—even when you’re under stress
- connect professional values to real lawyering skills you’ll use in clinics, externships, summer jobs, and beyond
What you’ll do in the required program
Every 1L completes the required program, which includes:
1) A session about the character-and-fitness portion of your bar application
You’ll learn about the moral fitness requirement imposed by most boards of bar examiners and why your conduct, from the first day of law school, matters to your ability to earn your law license.
2) A shared reading: The Good Lawyer
You’ll read and reflect on a practical book about what makes lawyers effective and trusted. It explores the wide range of skills and qualities good lawyers rely on—judgment, credibility, empathy, clear communication, and decision-making under pressure.
3) A guided reflection or discussion
To help you connect the ideas to your own developing professional identity, you’ll either write a short reflection or join a facilitated discussion group led by Southwestern faculty, senior administrators, and alumni.
Optional: Earn a Professionalism & Civility Badge
If you want to go beyond the required program, you can earn a Professionalism & Civility Badge—a résumé-ready credential that signals your commitment to the habits employers and clients care about.To earn the badge, you’ll complete additional experiences such as:
- participating in one of Southwestern's two Inn of Court chapters (one in person and one virtual) and seeing professionalism modeled by attorneys and judges in the program
- participating in campus programs that focus on constitutional values, ethics, and the lawyer’s role in society
- completing a continuing legal education program focused on ethics, professionalism, or civility
- meeting one-on-one with a Southwestern alum to talk through real practice dilemmas
- observing court proceedings and reflecting on professionalism and civility in action.
Think of this program as professional identity formation with receipts: you’re not just hearing about the standards—you’re practicing them.
A message from Dean Darby Dickerson
“Students routinely thank us for assigning The Good Lawyer. They share that the book and our discussions help them understand the wide range of skills—including empathy, morale courage, resilience, and integrity—lawyers need and how those concepts connect to professional life from day one. They also share that the book helps give them a deeper sense of belonging in the profession and the confidence to develop their own, unique voice in the law.”
The bottom line
Legal knowledge matters. But so does professional reputation.
Southwestern’s 1L Professionalism & Civility Program helps students build a foundation for success in practice. You'll build a toolkit to emerge as a competent, caring, practice-ready professional.
For more information about this program, email lawdean@swlaw.edu.