Mr. Shaheen believes that his license to practice law represents not a right, but rather a privilege granted to him by the people of the state of Ohio.  With that privilege, and because he is an officer of the courts, comes the responsibilities:

• To promote respect for the legal system through his conduct and advice.
• To educate the public about the law.
• To inspire trust by never making a misrepresentation of fact or of the law to his clients, to the courts, or to opposing counsel.
• To treat each client with dignity and compassion regardless of their personal circumstances or the nature of their legal concern.
• To treat each client’s legal concern as if it were his own.
• To represent each client with integrity and in a manner that surpasses the ethical standards that are imposed upon all lawyers by the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct while remaining a zealous advocate of his client’s cause.
• To not only be an advocate, but also to be a trusted advisor and counselor.
• To encourage the amicable resolution of legal disputes, and to advise his clients to resort to litigation to resolve those disputes only as a matter of last resort.
• To always treat the practice of law as the noble profession that it is and never as just a business from which to make a livelihood.
• To charge reasonable fees that are proportional to the value and result created for his clients and to have written fee agreements with his clients in order to avoid misunderstandings regarding the scope of work that the clients have authorized or the manner in which fees will be charged.
• To undertake the representation of indigent clients under appropriate circumstances and without charge for services rendered.
• To volunteer his professional time and expertise to the community in order to better the lives of all residents of Licking County as a form of gratitude for his privilege to practice law.