How will AFL serve the public good?

The adversarial nature of the justice system demands that lawyers think beyond their own pocket books, and focus on the well-being of those that we took an oath to serve. “The law is a jealous mistress,” is a phrase we’ve all heard. We think it means that lawyers care about what they do and constantly strive to balance family, civic and professional obligations. It also means that our devotion to the law includes an obligation to work for the public good, as well as ourselves.    AFL is a private entity dedicated to finding new and innovative ways to advance the rule of law in Arizona. One way will be to create a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to the law, lawyering, and client service. While The Arizona Law Institute is only an aspirational goal at the present, we are committed to creating, endowing, and making it relevant, connected, and applicable to our mission--identifying lawyer excellence and informing client choice. It won't be quick or easy because it cannot happen until AFL becomes economically successful. Nonetheless, we are confident that it will happen. The first steps will be taken in 2012.     Chief Justice Harlan Fisk Stone said it best, “No tradition of our profession is more cherished by lawyers than of its leadership in public affairs. . . The great figures of the law stir the imagination and inspire our reverence as they have used their special training and gifts for the advancement of the public interest. Stone, The Public Influence of the Bar, 48 Harv. L. Rev. 1, 2 (1934).