After showing proof of my COVID vaccination and donning a mask, I was finally able to go to another meeting of Old Guys Litigation Gang- the OGLG. The name isn’t catchy, but it is easier to get past accountants and spouses than “Cigar and Booze Tuesday” was.
After women joined the gang, we kept “Guys” in the name despite a (too) lengthy debate. The discussion was less due to disagreement and more to the fact that litigators like the music of their own mouths, made rarer because few of us try as many cases as we once did. Or drink as many bourbons, for that matter.
We used to meet in a proper club space with dark paneling from ancient forest trees, flickering candles, and the seasonally appropriate crackling fire. Of course, this meant we couldn’t meet at all last year. The group’s name tells you that there are many preexisting conditions that would be sitting in the weathered leather chairs. When the newsletter announced that we had secured an outdoor venue, I was glad.
The crowd was small. I blame the fact that we mailed a paper announcement instead of sending an email. I would have preferred a fax but they don’t use those much where I live. By where I live, I mean the 21st century.
I sat near the edge of the patio with Larry and Marco, trying to enjoy my bourbon while they grumbled. It is always something with those two and I only sat with them because I was late to the meeting and they were near the door. Their complaints were plentiful. But for once, I agreed with them.
A big law firm that specializes in settling injury cases came to town recently, buying television advertising spots like they were cases of toilet paper during the early days of the pandemic. The local TV advertising firms followed suit and emptied their war chests. Money flew and ad execs ran around with butterfly nets to catch it. I don’t watch the local news but understand that the lawyer ads are more prevalent than political spots during election season, albeit with fewer guns and less slander.
Larry says it is because the Arizona Bar now allows nonlawyers to own law firms. I don’t foresee law firms trading on a stock exchange any time soon, but money is making its way to lawyers in ways that were once taboo. If the law is trending from profession to business, money is always the impetus.
It is ironically fitting that this blow to the legal profession started in Arizona, since they were the first state to legalize lawyer advertising. Marco is convinced that the desert sun has baked their brains.
Consumers have accepted lawyer advertising, despite the early pushback. In the process, the legal profession became a commodity. Advertising firms defend themselves by saying that consumers should know their rights, and the insurance companies- on television or otherwise- won’t tell them. Lawyer ads are supposed to fill the information void although I have yet to see a lawyer ad discussing statutes of limitation or the Rule in Shelley’s case. Then again, I don’t watch much TV.
A national mega-law firm with personal injury clients would certainly be more interesting to investors than a smaller regional firm would. Paradoxically, the law has always been a uniquely local profession. Smart trial lawyers know the value of local counsel to help them with both the written law and the unwritten rules when they venture to an unfamiliar venue. This is less important if your goal is to settle cases out of court and quickly.
Obvious self-interests aside, many of us believe that mega law firms are not the best option for injured clients. It is one thing to get your hair cut in a big box store, which Larry probably does. It is another to trust your only legal case to a firm where the client is just a number. Even with the relaxed video conference dress code, an apron and a name tag are not proper attorney attire. If members of our profession are all in the same boat, we don’t want it to dock at LawMart.
Old doctors agree with me on this. Those who practiced before for-profit managed care became the norm almost weep when they talk about the freedom they used to have. If they thought a patient needed a test, they ordered it without checking with a bean counter. If they needed more than 8 minutes with a patient, they spent it. Honest ones speak wistfully about the difference in their incomes before they became fungible as well.
But for the smoke and snacks, I would have left the OGLG very depressed. We are dinosaurs watching new furry creatures running around our feet. Some of us Stegasauraus, some of us Velicoraptors, but all of us on the same boat.
Yes, Gentle Reader, like Noah, I am aware that boat and dinosaur metaphors don’t mix. The legal profession is more sailboat than speedboat, and nothing will happen quickly. If we are on a boat, it is rudderless with empty sails, heading towards Niagara Falls. Marco and Larry stopped yelling that they are the “kings of the world,” and got down off the bow. Even they can see the iceberg ahead. Luckily, we are old enough that we will be getting off before the life rafts run out.
©2021 With All Due Respect. Spencer Farris is the founding partner of The S.E. Farris Law Firm in St Louis, Missouri. He wears a life jacket in the kiddie pool. Comments or criticisms about this column may be sent directly to me via email at farris@farrislaw.net.