CBA Record

Chicago Bar Foundation Report

A New Year’s Resolution for the Legal Profession Stop Calling People Non-Lawyers!

Note: This article is from a“Bobservations”blog series on the CBFwebsite.You can see the full se- ries at chicagobarfoundation.org/bobservations. While I have no idea how we got started using the non-lawyer expression, and I don’t think it is something lawyers do with any ill will, it is pretty offensive when you think about it. And it betrays a shortsighted and artificially limiting mindset that has a number of negative consequences for access E very once in a while I read an article or hear a speech that causes me to recognize I’ve been acting like a fool in one way or another. And I am certain I have many more opportunities ahead of me for that kind of recognition. A great example of this phenomenon occurred not long ago when I heard Jordan Furlong, a very perceptive analyst of the legal market and the future of our profession, note that we are the only profession that describes everyone who is not one of us as a “non.” He’s right. You don’t hear doctors calling everyone else in the medical field “non- doctors,” or CPAs calling their colleagues “non-CPAs.” In fact, it sounds absurd to even imagine them or any other profession- als doing that. Yet that’s exactly what we do as lawyers, and I have certainly been guilty of my share of it over the years. By Bob Glaves, CBF Executive Director

to justice, the future of our profession, and our public image as lawyers. The Many Integral Legal Professionals Besides Lawyers There are so many different professionals who contribute to a successful law practice today that I am sure I would forget some if I tried to name them all. In a larger law firm you increasingly will find a team of management, finance and administrative professionals; professionals dedicated to marketing and communications, tech- nology, pricing, project management, analytics, and more; paralegals and other people dedicated to legal and operational support; and many outside consultants. Sometimes the people in these roles also happen to be lawyers, but it is generally more of a coincidence when that is the case; the kinds of experience and expertise these other professionals bring to the table is very different from what lawyers bring. In smaller firms and other practice envi- ronments, these various kinds of expertise are more likely to come from consultants or contractors or through bar associations or professional networks, but they are no less important to a successful practice in the modern era. And if anything, this will be even more true in practices of all sizes in the future as technology continues to transform the practice of law. Obviously, the delivery of quality legal

services is the ultimate output for a law practice, and lawyers remain the core of providing those services. But acknowledg- ing that reality is no excuse for minimizing these professionals by defining them as a “non” or laying down such a bright line divide between lawyers and the many other professionals who are integral to delivering the lawyers’ legal services effectively, and who increasingly provide value to clients in other ways as well. That bright line divide is more than a matter of nomenclature, as right now in Illinois and almost everywhere else in the country we continue to cling to ethics rules that say only lawyers can own law firms and it is unethical for lawyers to share profits with anyone who is not a lawyer. As we work to wean ourselves off our unfortu- nate “non-lawyer” terminology habit, we should take a hard look in the mirror at why other legal professionals and outside investors can’t share in the ownership of law practices. England, Australia and other jurisdictions have already opened the door to other kinds of ownership, and it is time to have a more serious conversation about that here as well.

The Critical Roles of Other Legal Professionals for Access to Justice

While I’ll save the law practice ownership/ investment discussion and its potential impact on access to justice for another

18 JANUARY 2017