A lot of people have been talking about Steven Harper's The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis. And in the academy we've been talking about the law school crisis for years now, so the basics of Harper's book will come as no surprise to this community.
Harper presents a balanced (even as it is harrowing) look at the profession. There are a couple of things that I particularly like about this book, which I want to call attention to. First, Harper has a wide vision of the lawyer crisis; he talks about both what's happening in law schools and what's happening in the profession. And Harper has a particularly clear look at a bunch of issues -- how students often pick law school because it is a path of least resistance and there are a lack of other good opportunities (or at least there is a perception of lack of other opportunities); how law schools' focused on rankings has led misled them; how law firms' increasing focus on profits for partners has led to decreasing opportunities for junior lawyers and decreasing quality of life for associates; how clients' focus on the bottom line has caused constriction in law firms. This is a picture with a lot of moving parts and it shows that the problems of the profession can't be solved quickly or by action of one group.
Some people argue that the ABA should be more aggressive in restricting output. I'm not sure that the ABA could engage in that kind of guild protection. Harper doesn't suggest that, but he does at one point suggest that law school deans hold the key to the solution: they can admit fewer students. Yet I think our neo-liberal world isn't going to adopt that solution. As we're seeing, the market is beginning to correct the problem.
Also, you may be interested in Harper's appearance on the Diane Rehm show a few weeks back.
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