AIKEN, S.C. - A revised oath for South Carolina lawyers stresses one of life's earliest lessons - treat others like you want to be treated.

Attorneys will start pledging the revised oath this month. By the end of the year, all of the state's lawyers will have to take the oath and attend a one-hour seminar to keep their licenses.

The civility pledge is contained in the fourth paragraph of the new oath and reads: "To opposing parties and their counsel, I pledge fairness, integrity, and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications."

Rachel Beckford, an ex-officio member of the commission that drafted the new oath, called it "an effort to improve the public's perception of lawyers, and have them act like the professionals they are."

It was prompted by a rash of ugly deposition sessions and purposefully slow exchanges of evidence.

"There have been instances of disrespect between lawyers, and disrespect shown to witnesses and lay persons. I don't think the problem is widespread to start with - this is more pre-emptive than corrective," said Spartanburg attorney Ken Anthony, president of the South Carolina Bar Association.

Legal professionals say the problems seem to have cropped up more in civil litigation and tend to be most pronounced in bigger cities.

The sniping and snide remarks often occur outside the presence of the judge. That doesn't surprise Circuit Court Judge James Barber, who said lawyers don't tend to show their ugly side in front of him.

"Generally, people are on their best behavior when they're in front of a judge," Barber said.

Aiken lawyer Ronnie Maxwell said the lawyers he knows respect each other.

But the past president of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association said he also supports the new oath because "anything we do toward making the profession more civilized, whether we needed it or not, isn't a bad thing to do."

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Information from: The Augusta Chronicle, http://www.augustachronicle.com/