The Role of Professional Identity in Legal Work and Legal Hiring

Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers (ETL)

Sept 28, 2012

William D. Henderson

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Our “professional identity” as legal educators in face of disruptive change.

• Facts, analyzed objectively • Leadership

• Judgment • Courage

Asia, Automation, Abundance

-- Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind

Legal Profession

Circa 1905, 1945, 1985

Legal Services Industry

Legal Industry

Legal Profession

Circa 2012

Private Practice Circa 1948

• 163,000 Lawyers

• 45.0% w/ college degrees; 74.5% w/ law degrees

• 1.64 lawyers per firm

• 1.9 % lawyers in firms of 9+ partners

Source: Blaustein, “The 1949 Lawyer Count,” 50 ABA J 370 (1950)

Solos, 61%

Partners, 24%

Associates 4% Gov’t,

In-House 11%

Lawyers by Role

Heinz-Laumann “Two-Hemisphere” Theory

Growth driven by business demand

Corporate

Litigation

Office

Practice for

Corps

Office

Practice for

Persons

Personal

Litigation

Growth driven by

Population

1975

Heinz-Laumann “Two-Hemisphere” Theory

Growth driven by business demand

Corporate

Litigation

Office

Practice for

Corps

Office

Practice for

Persons

Personal

Litigation

Growth driven by

Population

1995

US Lawyer Population (1951-2000)

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1951 1960 1971 1980 1991 2000

Year

Lawyer Population

US Lawyer Population (1951-2000)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1951 1960 1971 1980 1991 2000

Year

Lawyer Population

20th Century

Supply Demand

988,898

1,122,723 1,074,994

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

1,000,000

1,100,000

1,200,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Tota

l Nu

mb

er

of

Emp

loye

es

Year

Total Law Firm Employment, 1998 to 2010

Total Employment 2 per. Mov. Avg. (Total Employment)

Generated by William Henderson (June 2012)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

% of Entry Level Jobs in Private Practice 1985 to 2011

% of Entry Level Jobs in Private Practice 2-Year Moving Average

Source: NALP Bulletin, July 2012, charts generated by William Henderson

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

Incoming 1L Classes, ABA-Accredited Law Schools 1985 to 2011

Incoming 1L Class, All Schools 2-Year Moving Average

Source: ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, Chart generated by William Henderson (July 2012)

15% increase in Law Schools (175 to 201) 19% increase in 1L enrollment

Market in 2012

Supply Demand

Outcomes for the Class of 2011

Bar Passage Required, FTLT,

55.2%

JD Advantaged FTLT, 8.1%

Professional FTLT, 3.9%

Other Outcomes,

32.8%

Outcomes By USN Rank

83.1%

59.9%

53.6%

48.2%

45.1%

10.9%

30.2%

33.3%

37.3%

41.5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Top 14

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

BarPassage FTLT JD Advantaged FTLT Professional FTLT Other Outcomes

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

% G

row

th in

Em

plo

yee

s Change in # of Employees since 1998

Legal Services Industry Law Offices vs. All Other Legal Services

Offices of lawyers All other legal services

Since 2004: Law Offices: -47,729 jobs All Other Legal Services: + 7,696

Generated by William Henderson (June 2012)

Susskind’s Paradigm

Bespoke Standardized Systematized Packaged Commoditized

Needed human capital: • Information technology • Systems engineering • Finance • Marketing • Project Management • Law

Legal Services Industry

Legal Industry

Legal Profession

Circa 2012

Asia, Automation, Abundance

Arc Informed by theory and data

Career Arc

Practice Mastery

Time

Arc under Traditional

model

Graduation

What do we do next?

What is working now?

Why is it working?

Practice mastery

1L

Upper Level

Entry level lawyer

Early career

Mid career

Layer 1 (Baseline skills, ability, knowledge)

Layer 2

Layer 3

Senior career

Layer 4

Practice Mastery

Practice mastery

Baseline skills, ability, knowledge

+ Skills, knowledge, abilities (KSA)

Layer 3 KSA

Layer 4 KSA

Practice Mastery

Theory and data needed for faster,

higher arc

Practice mastery

Baseline skills, ability, knowledge

+ Skills, knowledge, abilities (KSA)

Layer 3 KSA

Layer 4 KSA

Practice Mastery

Complex theoretical and empirical questions

Answers are worth billions socially and

economically

Questions