Taking a cue from a New York Law Journal article on the importance of small practices in the legal marketplace, Carolyn Elefant mentioned on MyShingle that an overwhelming majority of the nation's law firms are small practices with fewer than 10 attorneys employed. According to an ABA survey, most law students are more interested in working with a small practice than in joining a major law firm. While BigLaw life has its undeniable pitfalls, small firms and solo practitioners have a different set of problems. Chief among them are a lack of formal training, financial risk, and the isolation of practicing alone. Elefant claims that despite this, small-firm practice is its own reward. Often, small firms provide access to the judicial system for clients who wouldn't ordinarily retain the services of a big law firm.
Adam Smith Esq. highlighted an excellent article about the difficulties of effectively managing a private practice. David Maister's Are Law Firms Manageable? states that law firms are unlike most businesses in that they cultivate an atmosphere of mistrust, lack a singular ideology, and encourage professional detachment. With big businesses consolidating their use of outside counsel, more and more major clients are demanding that firms adopt a corporate management style. The solution, according to Maister, is for every firm to take a long, hard look at the issues of trust, values, and emotional involvement.
Another post from MyShingle dealt with the sensitive issue of lawyers getting too old to practice law. Not long ago, a debate raged about senior citizens behind the wheel of automobiles. The new concern is attorneys practicing after senility sets in. Even broaching the subject can lead to claims of age discrimination. With the nation's baby boomers reaching retirement age, however, the issue has become a hot topic. Attorneys at the greatest risk are solo or small-firm practitioners. Large law firms usually have retirement plans in place, while smaller firms do not. The majority of state bars don't even have formal policies for dealing with this specific type of impairment.
Addressing one of the week's hottest controversies, dear old Professor Bainbridge discusses the death penalty and Zacarias Moussaoui. Perhaps the issue isn't really all that controversial. A predominance of bloggers seem resolute in their conviction that Moussaoui should get the death penalty. Bainbridge isn't so sure, though he attests that Moussaoui is certifiably evil. His assessment of the matter is enlightening, but short on a definitive opinion. Bainbridge gets medieval on the Judeo-Christian and legal ethics of the death penalty. He wonders if Moussaoui isn't just taking the fall for the hijackers who didn't live to stand trial. Ethics aside, the fact remains that Moussaoui may be more dangerous to the U.S. as a martyr than a prisoner. Moussaoui's braggadocio is also a bit of a turnoff. He's about as subtle as Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon. Come on, Zack. We get it. You're evil. You had us at "Death to the Infidel."
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog offered an interesting analysis of the recent boom in the number of blogging attorneys. Why are there so many? According to the WSJ, some attorneys are just plain bored. Well-educated attorneys are often stuck with menial tasks, and blogs offer attorneys an opportunity to explore their untapped potential. In the old days of the 1990s, attorney novelists were hot commodities. Now, with the expansion of the blogosphere, law blogs present attorneys with the chance to vent their frustration, utilize their superior academic training, and maybe even become a genuine Internet celebrity. With the value of real celebrities plummeting (Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton, R. Kelly) our nation is depending on its Internet celebrities. From top law bloggers like David Lat and Melissa Lafsky to the Star Wars kid, Internet stars have proven to be more reliable and entertaining than their real-life counterparts.
Finally, we would like to wish a happy first anniversary to our friends at f/k/a… Next week, we will be cooking up a fresh batch of law blog gumbo. Until then, happy trials, LawCrossers.
Jeff is a writer from Los Angeles, CA. Currently, he is the moderator of the message boards at Judged.com, the largest insider source of law firm information.
The search features on LawCrossing are brilliant. It is the most complete site I have come across. Dustin
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