In the two years since being named president-elect nominee, it has been possible not to have to re-cycle any talk, speech or other presentation.

Now I propose to do just that.My duties on behalf of the American Bar Association have taken me hither and yon.

I have been with lawyers at work, from a legal aid office in Portland, Maine, where a young woman in a divorce case was being helped to receive decent treatment from court personnel, to a major law firm in San Francisco providing pro bono legal assistance to a homeless advocacy group.On the basis of what I have seen, have heard and have learned, I am even more proud to be a lawyer.

The profession is as strong or stronger than it has ever been.Nevertheless, everywhere one goes the nagging issue of 'lawyer image' raises its head.

The 'image' question was the subject of the recent meeting of the New England Bar Association.Interestingly, the loudest comments about the image problem come from lawyers themselves, and if one listens only to them it might be easy to conclude that this is the most important issue facing not only the legal profession but the nation.It is not.In fact, as I told those assembled at the New England Bar meeting, it seems to me that our colleagues, who are so fixated on themselves, do little else than portray lawyers as uncaring of the public we serve, thereby compounding the image problem.Some of you, dear readers, will be offended by such a thought.

After all, how can the president of the ABA offer such a view when our profession is the butt of jokes from television talk show hosts and Madison Avenue advertising executives?My answer? Lawyer image pales in contrast to other complex issues faced by the legal profession, the justice systema nd our society today.

Consider the following:-- In an age when racism is more prevalent, more virulent and more accepted than at nearly any point in my lifetime, should the legal profession expend energy to address its own image?-- When recent reports by the US Census Bureau demonstrate a vastly expanding underclass - a group with largely unmet legal needs - should we be consumed by our own image?-- As we reach a point in American history when our fellow citizens, from California to New Jersey, from Florida to Virginia, seem intent on closing our shores to new and different cultures, what difference does the image of this profession really make?-- As members of the legal profession - especially those in small and solo practice settings - suffer in an economic environment that is hostile to their practice, should lawyer image be our highest priority?-- When the Legal Services Corp - an oasis of hope in a desert of despair - is underfunded and now, again, is being threatened with extinction for partisan political purposes, should we care about lawyer image?For me, the answers to these questions are clear.

All of our focus, all of our hand-wringing about our own image has only resulted in the legal profession looking self-centred, silly and out of touch with the real needs of our profession, the justice system and the public.The priority of the profession has been primarily, and always must be, one of service - service to others without thinking of ourselves.

It is this tradition that has given our profession the moral authority and integrity to help lead our nation in finding answers to vexing problems.We can fulfil this long-standing role if we forget this bout of selfishness in which we have engaged and return to our tradition of public service.The best way, the only way, to improve our image is so startlingly obvious that we often overlook it.

We must serve the public.

That is the obligation of every lawyer, for that is what we are all about.