In 1971, when Ben F. Johnson III joined Alston & Bird -- then Alston, Miller & Gaines -- he was the 37th lawyer and made $17,000. The firm now has about 700 attorneys, and first-years make $125,000. In his 10th year as managing partner, Johnson reflects on the pressure to conduct a law practice like a business, the need to build a community within a firm, and the lack of leaders in the industry, as demonstrated by the "pitiful nature of the public debate" during the recent U.S. Supreme Court confirmations.
March 24, 2006 at 12:00 AM
1 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.Com
Ben F. Johnson III is running a very large, very rich firm that likely will get even larger and richer. Despite that, he thinks that the practice of law — even at a big corporate firm like his own — can and should still be a profession, not a business.
At 62, Johnson, now in his tenth year as managing partner of Alston & Bird, has become the dean of Atlanta’s big firms thanks to a recent influx of mid-40-ish managing partners at the city’s rivals.
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