Bleak visions of the legal profession?

Taking its virtues and flaws for all in all, it's an understatement to say that I liked Douglas Litowitz's The Destruction of Young Lawyers far more than Jeff Lipshaw did.  In fact, of all the recent jeremiads about the elite end of the US legal profession, Litowitz's may have been the most fun read.  (The Clifford Chance Associates Memorandum, written back in 2002, was the most compelling read.)  Rather than respond immediately to Jeff Lipshaw's criticisms, some of which I have agreed with, I was wondering if we could make a list of recent works portraying the bleak life of associates in biglaw firms.  What am I missing besides these?  (I'm not looking for general works like the Zitrin-Langford Moral Compass book, but rather for ones focusing primarily on biglaw associates.)

Patrick Schiltz's article.

Litowtiz's book.

The Clifford Chance Associate's Memorandum

Unfortunately, I haven't yet read the new article by William Henderson and David Zaring, which offers empirical evidence on the lives of biglaw associates, so I can't comment on it.  (I have a copy printed out and am getting to it, Bill.)

Comments

[Brad]

Jeff can speak for himself, but I have to say I'm utterly mystified at the positive reception this book has been getting. I'm all for splenetic rants, jeremiads, screeds, and broadsides . . . on blogs or in popular publications. But don't call it scholarship. Scholarship is supposed to take opposing claims seriously, weigh the evidence for and against one's position, and aim at getting at the truth about something. Good scholarship can be impassioned -- look at Susan Koniak's work, for example -- but it must always pass the test of being based in a reasonable, impartial assessment of the competing positions.

It's a mistake to list this book alongside the Schiltz article, which for all its verve and conviction at least marshaled a great deal of supporting evidence for its claims. The symposium in the Vanderbilt Law Review on Schiltz's article shows that serious legal profession scholars were motivated to debate it on its merits. I don't see that happening with the "Destruction" book. It may be fun to read, but it's fun in the same way Grisham is fun. It's entertaining to imagine that the Mafia runs a big law firm, or oil companies have conspired to bump off a Supreme Court justice, or whatever. No one mistakes that sort of entertainment for a scholarly assessment of life in big law firms, in terms of the mental health and satisfaction of associates, or in terms of the relationship between the structure of big firm practice and legal ethics.

Rather than comparing Litowitz's book with other harangues, if one compares it with careful studies of big law firms (by people like Marc Galanter, Thomas Paley, Bob Nelson, Mark Suchman, and David Wilkins), it's plainly in a different genre altogether. Again, by the standards of that genre it may be entertaining, but let's not confuse it with scholarship.

[Mitt Regan]

Here are a few that come to mind:

In the Shadow of the Law, by Kermit Roosevelt (2006) (fiction; one of the books in Bill Henderson and David Zaring's recent review essay)

Anonymous Lawyer, by Jeremy Blachman (2006)(fiction; from the perspective of a rather notorious partner)

Proceed With Caution: The First Year At One of America's Largest, Most Prestitious Law Firms, by William R. Keats (1997)

Double Billing: A Young Lawyer's Tale of Greed, Sex, Lies, and the Pursuit of a Swivel Chair, by Cameron Stracher (1999)

The Good Black: A True Story of Race in America, by Paul Barrett (2000)

There's also a February 7, 2007 memo from Mayer Brown to its securitization associates that's been circulating, which addresses some issues that the associates apparently raised. Not as high-voltage as the Clifford Chance concerns, but an interesting window into associate life.

[John Steele]

Brad,

My review of it listed a number of significant criticisms. But we should bear in mind that it declares its own purpose to be something other than empirical social science research or carefully footnoted argumentation. He says it's cultural criticism in the mode of Roland Barthes. So, yes, it's a jeremiad, a screed, a venting, a cri de coeur. It admits as much. Take it for all in all.

The other thought that I need to work up a little is that its recitation of the facts isn't very different from the Schiltz article or the Clifford Chance memo, or from portions of the any number of criticisms of the law school experience. (I still have to read the Henderson/Zaring piece to see how it compares.)

For that matter, many of Litowitz's policy suggestions aren't that different from the ones you find in Rhode's book, or Zitrin-Langford, or other books. What's distinctive about Litowitz is the stance of his cultural criticism and the apocalyptic tone (which I apparently enjoy more than some reviewers).

Finally, even if some readers find it hyperbolic (including me), in my experience there are many law students and biglaw associates who have the same reaction. I've been working at law firms since I was 14 so I obviously don't have the same experience. But Litowitz perfectly captures a sense of that alienation.

[John Steele]

Mitt,

Thanks for those cites. Maybe this site can have an online symposium on "Biglaw Apocalypse." Any volunteers?

John

[Brad]

John --

I don't mind expressing one's sense of alienation, and hoping it resonates with others. A good example of that is Scott Turow's One L, which is a similar kind of cri de coeur, but which struck many people in my law school class as hysterical. Law school wasn't that bad for many of my classmates, even though Turow's description might have seemed right on the money for some, and probably reflected aspects of everyone's law school experience. Maybe another analogy is all the mopey, angry, or alienated music I listened to as a teenager. I remember thinking the Smiths, the Cure, or Black Flag spoke to something I felt but couldn't articulate. [Everyone should plug in their own generation's teen-angst music here in this analogy.] There's something valuable about that, which I'm not denying.

If someone reads Litowitz's book and thinks, "Yes, that's exactly how I feel as a big-firm associate," then he's succeeded in capturing an aspect of that experience. I don't think he's as good at that as many novelists, but opinions can differ on that. My point is that if we're debating whether the book succeeds as a novel, we've already taken it out of the genre of scholarship. I'm not a literary critic, so I probably wouldn't get involved in a discussion of whether a new novel about life as a big-firm associate succeeds. I will, however, intervene in a discussion that evaluates Litowitz's book alongside the sociology or normative theory of the legal profession.

[John Steele]

Brad,

Personally, I don't think our readings of the book are all that different. As for The Cure, which was a touch after my time, I find "Friday I'm in Love" to be optimistic and inspiring in its own way. What can I say?

John

[David McGowan]

As I recall, Galanter termed Schiltz's piece a homily, which fits with my recollection.

I don't know that a blogfest on the topic will produce much in terms of yield, but I'll be happy to contribute the "you can whine, or you can cash your check, but don't do both" point of view.

DM

[Maury Landsman]

This article includes more than big firms, but it is an empirical study. (I posted it as a comment to Dave McGowan's last post.
For an interesting empirical study of lawyer satisfaction and social class (as reflected in law school rankings) see: Dinovitzer, Ronit and Garth, Bryant G., "Lawyer Satisfaction in the Process of Structuring Legal Careers" Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=948571):

[John Steele]

Thanks, Maury. I will check that out.

David, yes maybe an online symposium isn't called for, but at the next ethics conference we can have a "whine and cheese" reception. (But if any associates even mention merlot I am out of there.) It was interesting to see Mitt's list with the growing number of pieces in this vein.

[Alan Childress]

I'd add to the list a very funny novel, The Associates, by John Jay Osborne. It's circa 1979. Of course he is better known for The Paper Chase, but this is a worthy near-sequel set in a big NYC law firm known for having its ampersand upside down.

[Susan Saab Fortney]

For people looking for empirical data, I refer them to the 2005 National Association of Law Placement Foundation Study on Work-Life Conflicts. I was the Pricipal Researcher on this study.

Building on my earlier empirical work on associate satisfaction, law firm culture, and billable hour expectations, I designed a national cross-profession study of lawyers practicing in firms, corporations, and government offices. The study obtained qualitative and quantitative information using two questionnaires: one designed for managing attorneys and one designed for supervised attorneys. We also conducted focus groups in five cities around the country.

Close to 50% of supervised attorneys agreed with the statement, "I feel stressed and fatigued most of the time." 63% of supervised law firm supervised respondents agreed that they are forced to sacrifice fulfillment outside work in order to advance their careers. Nearly half of the supervised attorneys in law firms and supervised attorneys in corporate offices reported that they were interested in exchanging lower compenation for working fewer hours.

I discuss these findings and others in a NALP Foundation book called, IN PURSUIT OF ATTORNEY WORK-LIFE BALANCE: BEST PRACTICES IN MANAGEMENT. I would be happy to send interested people a short article published in the NALP BULLETIN. I also discuss select findings in a Fordham symposium article called, The Billable Hours Derby: Empirical Data on the Problems and Pressure Points, 33 FORDHAM URB. L.J. 171 (2005).

Please let me know if you are interested in the short article. I always welcome feedback and criticism.

Susan

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