October 2007 Issue

Cover Story

Pulse of the Legal Profession

Web Extras:

Lawyers Who Made the Cover of the ABA Journal

Survey Methodology and More Results

Lawyers agonize about demands on their time. They are concerned about money. And only slightly more than half are satisfied with their careers, according to an exclusive survey of the profession commissioned by the American Bar Association.

But lawyers think the profession is more rewarding than those complaints suggest. Fully 80 percent of the 800 surveyed said they were proud to be attorneys, and 81 percent said they find their practice intellectually stimulating.

The Pulse of the Legal Profession surveyed both association members and nonmembers. The numbers are based on survey responses from 2006. It was the fourth such survey since 2001, and it marked the first time that questions were asked and answered online.

Lawyers expressed their views on a wide variety of issues, including judicial independence, civility among their peers and the quality of law school training. Despite concerns, those surveyed said they expect to remain in the profession; 76 percent reported that they expect to be practicing five years from now.

Feature Section

Color Me Legal

The ABA Journal’s new book about the U.S. Supreme Court is not the dense and stuffy tome you might expect.

Manhattan Work at Mumbai Prices

Inside India’s hottest legal outsourcing firm.

Settling It On the Web

New technology and lower costs enable growth of online dispute resolution.