You may have not noticed it but the torch is being passed to a new generation of lawyers. I remember President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address on January 20, 1961, in the bitter D.C. cold and how excited we youngsters were at the prospect of what lay ahead for this new generation.
As I wrote in a column almost a decade ago, “Some lawyers proclaim that they will never retire, but, after a certain point in time, I think most, if not all, lawyers of dinosaurian vintage get tired — tired of the endless demands of clients; tired of the nonstop requirement of billables, receivables, and collectibles; tired of the endless routine of business development; tired of trying to explain to newbie lawyers why their ‘great case’ isn’t so great, and why the case needs to resolve.” Now almost 10 years later, add to that list, the need for competency in AI and its many tendrils.
Yes, we dinosaurs may think that we are still in charge, but if we are, it’s not for much longer. For early boomers like me, we can see all around us that the landscape of lawyers is changing, if not already changed. Even for those at the end of the boomer period we are already in our sixties. (Do I see cringing?) We are finding (at least I think this is true for early boomers), the professional contacts we cultivated over our careers are no longer where they once were. General counsel and other higher-ups in corporate legal departments have retired, been pushed aside in corporate acquisitions (aka riffed, as it’s always better to be on the acquiring team), or taking dirt naps. Those contacts are no longer regarded as viable sources of business. They were here today and are now gone, good while it lasted. Now, who to jawbone for business?
We see it also in the musical chairs that play out as lawyers move from one firm to another in search of more money and maybe more prestige if that is important. However, it’s the money that moves people and as Gordon Gekko said in the movie “Wall Street”: “Greed is good.” But is it really? Is that the single motivating factor for so many of those Biglaw moves? Are those moves a betrayal of common values, friendships, and loyalties created over years of working together? I wonder.
Every time there’s a change in leadership at a client, it’s full-speed business development all over again. We are not just lawyers any more, now we have to also be selling. That’s been a tough adjustment for many of us, me included. Business development has, up to now, not been a required class in law school (not a bar exam question). Perhaps it should be. At least one Biglaw partner thinks so, stating that lawyers are no longer just lawyers, but salespersons. Not an easy adjustment for many lawyers to make, especially of dinosaur vintage. Is there still a reason to have a law degree? Perhaps an MBA with some law courses may suffice in the future. What are law schools doing about this, if anything? Are they preparing the law students for this new brave world?
Far from being irreplaceable, we are now seemingly fungible. What can we do that AI can’t? Be human and cultivate relationships. Relationships that can endure throughout the professional career. Relationships that prompt a phone call between lawyers to resolve matters without the need or desire to inject a third party. Relationships between counsel that demonstrate, in spite of evidence to the contrary, attorneys can be civil so as to benefit their respective clients. But so many lawyers (and their clients) can’t resolve their disagreements amicably. Rambo tactics, anyone?
In dinosaur times, collegiality between opposing counsel allowed cases to settle without the expense of a neutral, whose fees nowadays can be stratospheric. Whatever happened to the ability of lawyers to steer clients in the right direction? Are we doing any better today to serve the interests of justice? Are we meeting the unfulfilled demands of legal deserts across the country? The lessons of Weil Gotshal’s winding down after almost a century should be taken to heart, that is, if we have any heart.
Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.
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