CBA Record Feb-March 2015

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40 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015
LEGAL ETHICS
BY JOHN LEVIN
Too Many Lawyers and Too Much Work
T he American legal community is
facing a dilemma. There is a surplus
of law school graduates looking for
work and unable to find employment as
lawyers, while at the same time, a large
percentage of the middle and working
class are unable to obtain legal services at
a price they can afford. Basic supply and
demand theory posits that there should be
an adjustment in price so that the excess
lawyers will find work providing services
to those people who can only afford to
pay less. However, there seems to be a
price below which lawyers would rather
not work as lawyers, but would rather earn
their living elsewhere. As a result, there
is a point on the demand curve below
which the underserved public remains
underserved.
What are the causes of this apparent
unwillingness of lawyers to work below a
certain level of compensation? A review of
the literature reveals several factors.
First: The high costs to enter the pro-
fession. In almost all instances, a lawyer
needs a four year college degree and then
three years of law school. In addition to
the time and effort needed to get these
degrees, they also cost a great deal of
money. According to the popular press,
the average law school graduate has about
$100,000 of school debt at the time of
graduation. Thus, in addition to having to
get a reasonable return on the investment
John Levin is the retired Assis-
tant General Counsel of GATX
Corporation and a member of
the CBARecord Editorial Board.
made in obtaining the degree, the graduate
has a minimum earning requirement just
to service the debt.
Second: The level of compensation
available in other lines of work. Because
of the high entry requirements, lawyers are
highly educated (or a least highly degreed).
As a result, they meet or exceed the entry
requirements for many other fields of
endeavor. Also, law school teaches skills
that can be transferred to many occupa-
tions other than law. In fact, according to
the popular press, a significant number
of law school applicants do not intend to
practice law, but want to use the training to
further their careers in other fields. If, after
a search, a graduate cannot find work as a
lawyer at an adequate compensation, there
are other opportunities for remunerative
work elsewhere.
Third: The integrity of the profession.
Given the training and skill necessary to
be a lawyer, legal services have a certain
intrinsic value. According to economic
theory, if a lawyer has a day without pros-
pect of income but with fixed expenses,
any income should be acceptable–so why
not prepare an estate plan for $50. For
one, the lawyer would now have set a new
“going rate” for such work, which would
adversely affect the market going forward.
But in addition, there is a price so low that
it appears to cheapen the value of all the
work that becoming a lawyer and practic-
ing law entails. It is a psychological floor.
So where does that leave us in solv-
ing our dilemma? It seems that much of
the underserved community will remain
underserved no matter how many lawyers
are graduated. The next column will discuss
some possible solutions.
John Levin’s Ethics columns,
which are published in each
CBA Record, are now in-
dexed and available online.
For more, go to
legalethics/.
ETHICS QUESTIONS?
The CBA’s Professional Responsibility Commit-
tee can help. Submit hypothetical questions to
Loretta Wells, CBA Government Affairs Direc-
tor, by fax 312/554-2054 or e-mail lwells@
chicagobar.org.
Explicit Impact of Implicit
Bias
Tuesday, March 24, 12:00-1:00 pm
MCLE Credit: 1 IL PR Credit, subject to approval
Chicago Bar Association, 321 South
Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604
Presented by: YLS Diversity Committee
Although there has been a lot of dialogue on
implicit and unconscious bias, unpacking this
concept to understand the myriad of “mental
shortcuts” that we take that impact how we
work with and value others is critical to the
diversity and inclusion journey of any organiza-
tion. This presentation will cover many of the
specific implicit biases that affect the ways in
whichwe learn, work and lead, and howwe can
break our biases to achieve our highest potential,
as individuals and organizations.
In a rapidly changing global marketplacewhere
our differences can be a source of conflict or
strength, understanding and negotiating our
implicit cognitive biases can be an individual
as well as an organizational competitive ad-
vantage.
Speaker: Arin Reeves, JD Ph.D