A PROFILE IN PROFESSIONALISM

Scott E. Rozzell Executive Vice President & General Counsel CenterPoint Energy

As lawyers, we are members of a noble profession. Each day we face the challenge of demonstrating to our clients, our colleagues at the bar, our committees and ourselves that lawyers are both noble and professional. That is a daunting challenge because much of what we do involves the contest of competing interests. Yet it is a challenge that we must accept.

The public judges our profession by our collective actions, and the verdict is not always what we would wish. Inherent in that verdict is the high expectation that the public has of lawyers. You see, the public expects us to be noble and professional and, whatever our practice area may be, we are charged with the responsibility of living up to those expectations. To do so requires a continuing commitment to the qualities set forth in the Houston Bar Associations’ Professionalism Mandate:

The conduct of a lawyer should be characterized at all times by honesty, candor, and fairness. In fulfilling his or her primary duty to a client, a lawyer must be ever mindful of the profession’s broader duty to the legal system.