Lit Review #4

Jordan Weissmann
Author 

Weissman, Jordan. "The Atlantic." The Atlantic. N.p., 23 July 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

This article briefly discusses why the fall of many large cooperate law firms are important in understanding what ails the legal education system. Weissman explains that all though the largest 350 firms in the country may have only employed a small percentage of lawyers, they made up a very large portion of the industries job growth. The failure of these firms in 2008 has caused the job growth for lawyers to fall into the negatives.

Jordan Wiessman is an associate editor for The Atlantic. He is a 2008 graduate of North Western University. He has worked for and been published by: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Washington Post and the National Law Journal. While Jordan is a news reporter, he still remains a viable source for information. Most of his opinions and views are supported with numerical data coming from well recognized outlets.

Big Law- Refers to the top 350 law firms in the United States. These firms mainly based out of major cities across the country, account for the majority of legal profits.

Harsh New Economic Order- Refers to the time period between 2008 and the present day in which the legal profession has seen massive cuts in employment. This “new order” is likely to remain for the foreseeable future.

“These are grim days for large corporate law firms, which like everyone else were kneecapped by the recession, but have since emerged into a harsh new economic order where their old business model appears to be collapsing.”

“And when I say many, I mean law schools. Talk to an academic about the changing value of a law degree, and there's a decent chance they'll play down the recent trouble in Big Law”

“Without Big Law's explosive growth, it's impossible to imagine that law schools would have ever expanded or raised tuition the way they did during the good times. With Big Law on the rocks, we can only be thankful that schools themselves are now shrinking.”

This source will provide the basis for an entire argument within my paper. The argument of the failure of big law is one that is sometimes looked over by other sources. By having this argument in my piece I believe I will achieve a more complete and cohesive analysis of the legal education crisis.