A Saint's Advice for Lawyers on National Law Day
St. Alphonsus' "12 Commandments" written when he was just 16

DENVER, Co., May 1, 2007 - He was only 16 years old when he wrote his famous 12 Commandments for Lawyers. By this time, Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) had a doctorate in both canon and civil law. But he chose to forgo a promising legal career to become a missionary priest.

On this National Law Day, May 1 - instituted in the late 1950s by the American Bar Association and established by proclamation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 - we post St. Alphonsus Liguori's celebrated code of ethics for the legal profession:

1. One must never accept unjust cases because they are bad for one's conscience and one's dignity.
2. One must never defend a case with illicit and unjust means.
3. One must not load one's client with unnecessary expenses. A lawyer has the obligation to issue a refund if this has been the case.
4. One must deal with a client's case with the same care with which one deals with one's own.
5. One must study the files in order to draw valid arguments for the defense of the case.
6. The delays and carelessness of lawyers can be damaging to their clients, and the latter must be compensated lest justice is sinned against.
7. A lawyer must implore God for help in his defense, because God is the first protector of justice.
8. A lawyer who accepts many cases which are beyond his ability, his strength, and his time (which will often be lacking for the preparation of the defense) is not to be praised.
9. Justice and honesty are the inseparable companions of Catholic lawyers; in fact, they must always be treasured like the apple of their eye.
10. A lawyer who loses a case through negligence must take upon himself the compensation of his client for damages.
11. In defending a case one must be truthful, sincere, respectful, and rational.
12. Finally, the requisites for a lawyer are knowledge, diligence, truth, faithfulness, and justice.

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St. Alphonsus Liguori, C.Ss.R., founder of the Redemptorists, was one of the greatest moral theologians and spiritual writers in the history of the Church. Not only was he a doctor of the church and a bishop, he was also a canon and civil lawyer, a painter, musician, poet, architect, and the author of over 100 books, making him one of the most prolific religious writers of all time.

The Redemptorists are one of the world's largest religious congregations of Catholic priests and brothers, with some 6,000 missionaries living among the poor and most abandoned in many of the most abandoned parts of the globe. Redemptorists worldwide are celebrating this year the 275th anniversary of their founding.