Fordham Urban Law Journal articles from November 2005

Fordham Urban Law Journal archives from November 2005

Stein Center conference: professional challenges in large firm practices: Marilyn & Edward Bellet: a dedication.(Testimonial)
November 1, 2005... Fordham Law School is defined by its profound and extraordinary commitment to legal ethics and to the service of others. Tragically, this year we have lost two remarkable people who played a central role in establishing that commitment. It is...

Profits and professionalism.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... "Ethics pays" is a recurring refrain among commentators on professional and business ethics. This should come as no surprise. In a culture preoccupied with profit, appeals to self-interest may be the most persuasive strategy. Yet if virtue were...

The evils of "elasticity": reflections on the rhetoric of professionalism and the part-time paradox in large firm practice.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... INTRODUCTION "Don't do it." This was the wise advice of the senior associate I had adopted as my older brother and protector to guide me through the labyrinth of large firm life and politics. I had moseyed into his office, shut the...

The nirvana fallacy in law firm regulation debates.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... "[L]awyers can no longer look back a generation for their managerial models." (1) Most commentators would agree that large law firms have outgrown collegial management and self-regulation. With hundreds--and, in some firms, thousands--of...

The professionalization of ethics.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... The discussion of training reflected in this conference largely addresses how, in the current climate, we can turn new law graduates into experienced, capable and competent lawyers. My particular interest is in the importance of teaching law...

The billable hours derby: empirical data on the problems and pressure points.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... If you ask law firm attorneys to identify their biggest complaint related to private law practice, most will probably respond with one word: billing. (1) At the same time, clients are likely to identify billing as their most serious concern...

Legal education after law school: lessons from Scotland and England.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... INTRODUCTION The symposium entitled "Professional Challenges in Large-Firm Practices" held at Fordham University School of Law on April 15, 2005 opened up a much-needed dialogue between law schools and law firms about legal education after...

How law firms can do good while doing well (and the answer is not pro bono).(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... I was speaking with a transactional lawyer whom I hadn't seen in many years. He spoke with passion about his work. He was making good money. He was working on important deals. He took pride that when he worked on a deal, all the parties...

Intimidation and the culture of avoidance: gender issues and mentoring in law firm practice.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... I. MENTORING AND WOMEN'S ADVANCEMENT IN LAW FIRM HIERARCHY While women are gaining equal access to the legal profession at the ground level, they have yet to achieve similar entree to the upper echelons of law firm practice. Women currently...

Large law firms and their role in the educational continuum of lawyers.(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... The business savvy and organizational mettle of the largest law firms in the nation is formidable. The top 100 law firms in the United States grossed nearly $42 billion in fiscal year 2003. (1) Average profits per partner were recorded as...

The end of partnership.(pro bono work in law firms)(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... Is it time to be honest? Haven't law firms gotten away for far too long with far too much fraud in the inducement to let it go unremedied? Don't we owe everyone honest disclosure of what we are doing? Let us look at the myths, myths that...

Should we mandate doing well by doing good?(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)
November 1, 2005... I hold, right here in my hand, the legal profession's playbook. All on one sheet of paper--an insert to the AmLaw 100 issue of The American Lawyer (1)--it is all summed up, revealed in a stark fashion, the profession's bragging rights and the...