A former partner at megafirm Kirkland and Ellis burns his bridges in this scathing indictment of law schools and big law firms. Harper (Crossing Hoffa), who worked in the field for 30 years, has a lot of bones to pick with various bodies, and he begins by chastising law schools for misrepresenting the opportunities available to their heavily indebted students after graduation (some alumni have even sued their schools for “deceptive conduct”), and for privileging profit over adequately preparing their pupils for real-world practice. He dutifully lays some of the blame on students for ignoring “the persistent warnings” regarding the current state of law schools and the legal profession, but if prospective law students aren’t thoroughly discouraged by Harper’s initial volley at schools, his fusillade at the major firms should do the trick. He depicts big-firm culture as dominated by profit concerns and built on the leveraging of overworked associates. Some of his suggestions for improving the overall health of the industry are more realistic than others (he proposes, for example, that clients with clout push firms to charge less for services rendered by associates working “unproductively long hours”), and more time could be spent discussing small and midsized firms, but his insights and admonitions are consistently on point. Agent: Danielle Svetcov, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (Apr.)
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 amp; 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 listening for anyone who wants to know how things went so wrong and how the profession can right itself once again.
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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 amp; 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 listening for anyone who wants to know how things went so wrong and how the profession can right itself once again.
The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis
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 amp; 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 listening for anyone who wants to know how things went so wrong and how the profession can right itself once again.
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 amp; 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 listening for anyone who wants to know how things went so wrong and how the profession can right itself once again.
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940170404704 |
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Publisher: | Ascent Audio |
Publication date: | 04/16/2013 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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