There is a duty as an officer and right arm of the court. The contemporary legal practitioner must be able to serve their client whilst upholding the integrity of their duty to their country, where these two duties conflict the lawyer will be bound to follow their duty to their country. In other words the lawyer always has a duty to see that the legal system maintains its integrity. There is also the reality based point that any given lawyer must be able to trust that the other practitioner they are dealing with in any manner of transaction is also answer questions truthfully.

             Another arm of this public service element of professionalism is the requirement that today"s lawyer should engage in some manner of pro bono activity. In some large law firms this is encouraged through involvement in countless public interest projects such as representation of the poor, legal word provided for a public charity (Such as taxation help.) and representation to quasi-public bodies. This civic responsibility ideal is again a characteristic of a profession. Also there is the continuation of legal training, even when one has already attained their law degree.

             There is a clear and obvious public interest in these standards remaining. the public interest is guarded by the legal professions regulator, the New Zealand Law Society. The rules for the legal profession are laid down in both the Law Practitioners Act and in the Rules of Professional Conduct. These, combined, protect matters at the heart of what the public would view as necessary for the legal profession, for example.

             The legal profession still retains some attributes that would make the label "profession" a truthful one.

             Now the definition of what is meant by the term 'business" is one that seems, at least historically, easier to articulate than that of a profession. "A business is any employment, occupation, or commercial activity engaged in for gain or livelihood; that which busies or engages the attention, labor and effort of persons as a principal, serious concern or interest for livelihood, benefit, advantage or profit.