Mexico City, July 10, 2025.— The challenges facing contemporary legal professionals today are many and varied and, for this reason, they can be approached from different perspectives and with a wide range of nuances.
Before delving into this task—which is already complex enough in a brief space such as this—I feel it is necessary to explain, albeit very briefly, what law is and what its purpose is, since these are two questions that can certainly be understood from very different perspectives.
Law: the art of justice
Law is the art of justice. This means that one studies this most noble art to learn the practical science of giving everyone their due. It is common to confuse law with statutes, but this is not the case, since law encompasses statutes. Those who study law do not study statutes, nor do they prepare solely to become lawyers.
To confirm this, one need only ask any prospective student why they have decided to pursue this degree to hear a wide range of answers: “I want to be a notary, a judge, a lawyer, a tax consultant, a legislator…”
Thus, those who study law are not preparing exclusively to practice law, but to become a legal professional—that is, to master the art of distinguishing between what is just and what is unjust, whether in the noble practice of law or in any specific profession they choose from the broad spectrum of practical possibilities that the law offers.
The Law as a basic necessity for society
That said, the law is an absolute necessity for society, for the simple and straightforward reason that social life demands that things, property, positions, and burdens be distributed, from which each person derives what is theirs—which is the same as what is just—or what we usually call their right.
If, for example, John lends Mary $100 pesos, it is only fair that Mary pay him back that amount. In other words, John is entitled to that $100; or, to put it another way, it is his—what belongs to John—which is nothing other than the $100 he lent.
Once we understand the important role that lawyers play in society, it is clear that one of the most significant challenges—if not the most important one—in legal education, in addition to the obvious technical skills, is twofold.
Key Concepts: The Individual and the Common Good
On the one hand, to gain a deeper understanding of two concepts that will always and invariably be closely linked to any decision you face in your professional life: the notion of the person and that of the common good. In your professional future, whether you like it or not, when making a decision, it is inevitable that, in making that decision, a vision of the person and a vision of the common good.
That is why it is essential for law students to to reflect on and delve deeper into these two concepts, because the more deeply they explore them, the better equipped they will be to make sound decisions in their professional and personal lives. And to achieve this, it is not enough to study the various subjects related to the technical expertise that a lawyer must know and know well—for while these are essential, they are not sufficient.
Personal integrity: the cornerstone of the legal professional with a social impact
On the other hand, and especially in these times, when the significant role of the legal professional has fallen into considerable disrepute, I believe that it is the responsibility of law schools and faculties to encourage any aspiring lawyer to take on the challenge of embodying in their personal lives the desirable values that society as a whole is called upon to pursue.
There are few professions in which people’s integrity has as much social impact as in ours. And it is a challenge that, of course, spans our entire lives. It goes beyond our profession. It is the challenge of coherence, of consistency, of personal integrity.
If our future lawyers are able to rise to this challenge, they will ultimately be able to meet society’s expectations of them.
Author details:
Dr. Fernando Batista Jiménez
Dean of the School of Law at the Universidad Panamericana.
