Eleanor Brown
A decline in civility, coupled with an overall erosion in professional standards, motivated Eleanor Brown to become a professor of law so she could help train students to reverse unsavory trends in the legal profession.
“I have a strong desire to influence the direction of the legal profession. It is not just a matter of public perception; there has been a decline in civility at the bar and a decline in ethics,” she observed. “I knew of individuals who kept the clock running longer than necessary just so they could keep billing. To me, this was appalling.”
After earning a J. D. (University of Richmond) and an LL. M. in Taxation (College of William & Mary) and practicing as a tax attorney for 15 years, she became aware of a teaching opportunity at Regent Law School. She applied and was selected.
In the classroom, Professor Brown endeavors to instill high ethical standards in her students, employing a “two-pronged approach” to teaching tax law that brings life and zest to a subject that may seem dry to an outside observer. “The study of tax law is both theoretical and policy-based,” she said. Case in point: Brown’s current scholarship explores how the tax code and other fiscal instruments can be leveraged to change behaviors that negatively impact the environment. Christians are starting to get focused on the issue of stewardship of the earth,” she said. “And as Christians, we want to give from our abundance and not be wasteful.”
In preparing students for those times when professional satisfaction is not immediately forthcoming, Brown tells students they will ultimately receive compensation commensurate with the amount of dedication they put into their professional responsibilities. “If you do good work and help your clients to solve problems, the fees will come,” Brown said. “You can’t act in your own interest when you are acting as someone else’s lawyer.”
While she acknowledges the many demands associated with law school, Brown encourages students to practice “Sabbath living” and to take time out of their schedules for prayer and worship. “We get so wrapped around the axle in our modern lives,” she said. “But with prayer and fellowship, Christ will bring order to it all.”
