I am a young lawyer starting my own practice, but I am having great difficulty getting clients, or at least clients who can halfway pay. I have also tried to get involved in some civil litigation, but I cannot afford it. It is too expensive. Am I doing something wrong?

You are not doing anything wrong, but the nature of the practice of law has changed. Unfortunately, the bar associations at a local, state, and national level have failed in their duties to members of the bar. The Supreme Courts of each state have also ignored the future direction of the legal profession with resulting disasters coming up in the future. Despite the millions of dollars that some of these big law firms, and midsize firms are making, and the extremely excessive salaries they are paying first-year associates, the legal profession is having true economic problems. One classic example as to why is to look at the age of most judges now. So many young people are running for judges in their 30s or early 40s and are being appointed or elected. Why would one do that? The practice of law was an honorable and fun business, and a challenge. People are running for judicial office early because one can’t make a living out of law anymore, and because to even try to do so includes endless hours, weekends, working night and day. Becoming a judge is almost like being on a permanent vacation. Though that is said, to some extent, tongue and cheek, but there are very few judges who are in their office until midnight every night seven days a week traveling to different courthouses several times per week. Further, a judge does not have to pay overhead.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]