The Profession and Professionalism are Dead?: A Review of Thomas Morgan, The Vanishing American Lawyer (2010)

Abstract:     
Professor Tom Morgan’s new book, The Vanishing American Lawyer (2010) makes the argument that the legal profession and professionalism are dead. In light of the future market realities facing lawyers, Professor Morgan views the death of both law as a profession and professionalism as a good thing.

This book review disagrees that lawyers can better respond to new market realities and thus serve the public good by saying that the profession and professionalism are dead. It makes a Churchillian defense of the profession and professionalism. The concepts are flawed in actual practice, and we could do a great deal better in realizing them, but the review argues that the alternative that Morgan proposes is more flawed in terms of ultimate benefit for the public good. Business schools following Morgan’s model have largely failed to acculturate our most gifted and educated students into moralities necessary for sustainable responsible capitalism.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 9

Keywords: legal profession, professional responsibility, professionalism, legal ethics

Accepted Paper Series