One morning nearly 40 years ago, I appeared before the Appellate Division of the New York state Supreme Court, raised my right hand, and, along with about 200 other young lawyers, was sworn in as an “attorney and counsellor at law.” Those words on the engraved certificate, which I proudly displayed in my law office, mean something. An attorney is one who acts for another or represents another in legal matters and court proceedings. A counsellor, as its name implies, provides legal counsel or guidance to clients.

Nowhere in the oath that I took or in the certificate I received did it say anything about being a press agent. Yet, as I have observed over the course of my legal career, more and more lawyers have taken on the role once reserved for high-priced public relations firms. And this development is good neither for lawyers nor the public they are supposed to serve.

Let us consider the case of Marc E. Kasowitz, the attorney representing President Donald Trump in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference with the 2016 presidential election. In his role as attorney qua press agent, Kasowitz makes statements that, in light of what is known, simply defy belief. Examples abound. On April 14, Kasowitz, representing then-Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, said his client was “being subjected to a malicious campaign intent on harming his reputation and family through speculation and innuendo.” Four days later, Kasowitz put out a second statement claiming that O'Reilly had been “subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America.” He went on to state that “irrefutable” evidence would be “put forth shortly” showing that O'Reilly was the target of a smear campaign orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying him. Not surprisingly, no credible evidence of a smear campaign against O'Reilly was proffered. Instead, Kasowitz's client was fired the next day after it became public that the Fox News Network had entered into settlements costing it a total of $13 million to five women who had complained about sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior on the part of O'Reilly.