Return to Professionalism Focus Could Help Quell Discontent, Two Legal Leaders Say
Discontent in the legal profession is widespread, and it largely stems from law firms losing sight of professionalism in their quest for financial returns, according to a law firm leader and a former general counsel.
William Lee, the co-managing partner of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, and former General Electric general counsel Ben Heineman make out their case in an article for the American Lawyer.
“It is now time for a new paradigm for law firm leaders, as past fissures in firms, caused by relentless business pressures, begin to crack open from the earthquake of the Great Recession,” they write.
But it won’t be easy. Firm leaders will have to raise the issue in extended discussions with law firm partners, they say. “And some partners will certainly view the ideas expressed here as quaint or, worse, a threat to their autonomy or markets, or civilization as we know it.”
The partnership will have to move away from a mechanistic “eat-what-you-kill” mentality that rewards only top business-getters, they say. Associates should be treated as respected colleagues rather than hourly billing machines “as if they were Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times.” Firms should redefine productivity in a way that serves their clients. And top leaders should set the example, perhaps by taking out less money than they are due.
“Law firm leaders must emphasize other values as they reorient their firms with respect to their clients, their partners and their associates,” they write. “And they should redefine their own personal responsibilities and commitments. At the end of the day, they and their partners should restate, for the younger generation, the historic concept of what it means to be a legal professional, which has generally meant that private lawyers have public responsibilities beyond their immediate self-interest and beyond the needs of their immediate clients.”
