| | |
|
WookJinChungFirstEssay 6 - 19 May 2015 - Main.WookJinChung
|
| |
| META TOPICPARENT | name="FirstEssay" |
|---|
| | | Cultures among big law firms can vary widely. Some highlight the collegial atmosphere among their lawyers while others make note of their care for diversity. Despite these variances, a common characteristic that overshadows all other cultural differences is the way big law firms organize their resources—namely how firms structure its hierarchy and the implicit rules of climbing the hierarchy. Big law firms are not organized in practices with optimal number of lawyers where expertise is nurtured. They have ambitiously adopted a pyramidal structure with an oversized pool of generalist associates who are weeded out along the arduous pathway of making a partnership. It is also clear that the most important factor in partner selection, other than the strength of one’s client platform, is winning the love of the decision makers—finding powerful senior partners who will pound the table for you no matter what. Politics becomes an integral part of lawyering at a big law firm and in turn creates an ample ground for bias and favoritism. This explains why non-white male or female making an equity partner at big law firms is disproportionately difficult.
(3) Dissipated incentives. | |
<
< | For a long time, there were few careers that could compete against a job at a big law firm. It provided an attractive balance among the generous salary, the social status, and the work that was intellectually stimulating. However, the reality has changed. Lawyers face disillusioned clients who no longer harbor mystical perception towards big law firms. At the same time, firm lawyers are frustrated by piecemeal works that are shoved to them based on his or her availability and find many of their works being increasingly commoditized. On top of dissipated status and less intellectually stimulating work, the deadly workload of 90 hours a week compounds the unhappiness of practicing law at a big firm. | >
> | For a long time, there were few careers that could compete with a job at a big law firm. It provided an attractive balance of generous salary, social status, and work that was intellectually stimulating. However, the reality has changed. Lawyers face disillusioned clients who no longer harbor mystical perception towards big law firms. At the same time, firm lawyers are frustrated by piecemeal works that are shoved to them based on his or her availability and find many of their works being increasingly commoditized. On top of dissipated status and less intellectually stimulating work, the deadly workload of 90 hours a week compounds the unhappiness of practicing law at a big firm. | | | Alternative solutions. | |
<
< | As long as big law firms continue to produce unhappy lawyers and sub-optimal client services, there will be an abundant room for new players to provide alternative solutions that hone in on the pain points. More players like Joshua Horowitz armed with tech specialty or Jay Edelson with subject matter expertise will become attractive alternatives to clients who seek efficient solutions. Clients will ask entrepreneurs such as Gary Berger and Deborah Henry—founders of the virtual law firm “bliss lawyers”—to build out project based law firms to cover their special needs. This trend will empower lawyers who have the knowledge, the experience, and the insight in their niche area to build strong independent practices. It will also encourage law students and young lawyers to seek out their area of interest in practicing law early on in their careers. | >
> | As long as big law firms continue to produce unhappy lawyers and sub-optimal client services, there will be abundant room for new players to provide alternative solutions that hone in on the pain points. More players like Joshua Horowitz armed with tech specialty or Jay Edelson with subject matter expertise will become attractive alternatives to clients who seek efficient solutions. Clients will ask entrepreneurs such as Gary Berger and Deborah Henry—founders of the virtual law firm “bliss lawyers”—to build out project based law firms to cover their special needs. This trend will empower lawyers who have the knowledge, the experience, and the insight in their niche area to build strong independent practices. It will also encourage law students and young lawyers to seek out their area of interest in practicing law early on in their careers. | | |
|
|
|
|
|
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform.
All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
All material marked as authored by Eben Moglen is available under the license terms CC-BY-SA version 4.
|
|
| | |