Philip K. Howard at the Best Lawyers 25th Anniversary Event
April 29, 2009
As reported today in Law.com, Philip Howard moderated the panel on the future of the legal profession at the Best Lawyers 25th Anniversary Event, held April 23-25 in Atlanta, GA.
According to Law.com,
“[Howard] pointed to…the increase in the number and complexity of laws.
‘Layers of law have accumulated like concrete. Some is productive. So much of it is not. Congress never goes back and revises,’ said Howard, who addresses this issue in his latest book, ‘Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans From Too Much Law.’
He said the scale, complexity and globalization of legal matters means the need for good lawyers is greater than ever.
Howard predicted the end of the billable hour, which pits a firm’s financial interests against those of its client. This prediction has been made as long as the Best Lawyers group has existed, but Howard thinks the time could finally be right.
He advocated fixed-price billing with room to negotiate if the scale of the matter expands or contracts, and pointed out that clients and their counsel must trust each other for such deals to work. Such billing arrangements could swing the pendulum back to law as more of a profession, he suggested.
Howard and the three panelists—Daniel Cooperman, the general counsel of Apple; plaintiffs attorney Robert A. Clifford; and white-collar defense attorney Charles A. Stillman—agreed that lawyers are frustrated with where their profession is headed.”
Read the full Law.com article.
Comments (0)
No comments yet, be the first to comment on this post!