BigLaw and the Profession (and Business) of Law

For many, if not most of us who study law at this venerable institution, the first, and for a very few the only, venues in which we will practice our profession will be law partnerships that are among the group of entities that have come to be known, affectionately or derisively, as “Big Law.” This is the group of law businesses generally regarded as the largest and most prestigious firms in the United States and the world. This course will look at the evolution of these institutions from the early days of law practice partnerships and, with the help of guest “experts,” reflect on what they look like today, how they operate, and the concerns that keep their leaders up at night. We will consider the consequences of and reactions to the business and professional pressures that leading law firms and the lawyers in them face in the current market for legal services, and how associates and other lawyers “fit” into the vision and realities of these large legal partnerships. The relationships and congruencies between these manifestations of our profession and the culture and society in which they operate will be assessed. And we will conclude by deliberating in class over possible approaches to addressing some of Big Law’s toughest issues in light of all of the above. Today’s law students will help shape whatever the business of Big Law will look like in 2025, so having a good grounding in where Big Law came from, why and how it has evolved, its trials and tribulations, and the options and critical decisions that will have to be made by Big Law firms in the coming years will be important for new lawyers and for the profession.