Supply, Demand, and the Changing Economics of Large Law Firms

Abstract

This Note examines why the the economic model that has sustained large law firms for the last half-century is under pressure. It begins by tracing the rise and fall of professionalism in the legal industry, with a particular focus on how economic pressures created a work force that was overworked, dissatisfied, and unrepresentative of the general population. It then examines the purchasers of legal services - corporate clients - and why they have gradually started to use their market power to change law firm practices over the past two decades. The Note next considers the primary supplier of large firms - law students - and their nascent efforts to organize collectively for workplace reforms. It concludes by considering the overlapping interests of students and clients, and how the two groups could coordinate in the future. The Note suggests that the legal market is changing in ways that most lawyers have overlooked, and that the change is coming from some surprising places.

Keywords: Legal Profession, Law Firms, Corporate Clients