One post #1 I stake out my view that the legal profession is undergoing a structural transformation. It is sais that a picture can convey a 1.000 words. In this post, I want to share several graphics that I often use in talks related to structural change. Below each chart is a brief commentary that describes its relevance.
By the way, this is a long post (most pictures). Every 100 years, when the structure of the industry commences a dramatic transformation, I am going to break Internet ettiquette and write post that is commensurate with the seriousness of the topic.
Graphic #1: The Legal Profession, Circa 1948
The above graphic summarizes data from the first complete census of lawyers. It is snapshot of the legal profession at the beginnng of the post-war (or modern) era. Another way of stating it: This is structure of the legal profession when today’s senior lawyer firm partners were born. In their life times, the profession underwent a profound — albeit gradual — tranformation.
A few basic observations:
- Solo practitioners comprised a majority of lawyers in private practice.
- The “credential model” was not fully in place. Less than half of all lawyers completed law school; not all lawyers completed law school. One of the compelling reasons to finish law school was to obtain the requisite knowledge to pass the bar exam.
- Anti-leverage: 6 partners for every one associate. In reality, very few firms had associates. The average firm had 1.64 partners.
Along side the dusty journal article that provide the above data, I located another early post-war study that summarized lawyer income. The average
This project generated a lot of interest among the profession. I am told by Robert Nelson, Director of the American Bar Foundation (ABF), that this study provided part of the momemtum needed to create the American Foundation.
Graphic #2: The Upside Down Hockey Stick