A noble profession is facing its defining moment. From law schools to
the prestigious firms that represent the pinnacle of a legal career, a
crisis is unfolding. News headlines tell part of the story--the growing
oversupply of new lawyers, widespread career dissatisfaction, and
spectacular implosions of pre-eminent law firms. Yet eager hordes of
bright young people continue to step over each other as they seek jobs
with high rates of depression, life-consuming hours, and little
assurance of financial stability. The Great Recession has only worsened
these trends, but correction is possible and, now, imperative.
In The Lawyer Bubble, Steven J. Harper reveals how a culture of
short-term thinking has blinded some of the nation's finest minds to the
long-run implications of their actions. Law school deans have ceded
independent judgment to flawed U.S. News & World Report rankings
criteria in the quest to maximize immediate results. Senior partners in
the nation's large law firms have focused on current profits to enhance
American Lawyer rankings and individual wealth at great cost to their
institutions. Yet, wiser decisions--being honest about the legal job
market, revisiting the financial incentives currently driving bad
behavior, eliminating the billable hour model, and more--can take the
profession to a better place.
A devastating indictment of the greed, shortsightedness, and dishonesty
that now permeate the legal profession, this insider account is
essential reading for anyone who wants to know how things went so wrong
and how the profession can right itself once again.
