Lawyers have always prided themselves on being professionals and not just businessmen. Yet law firms are rapidly transforming into global business enterprises, with thousands of employees in offices around the world. The drive to increase profits (or profits-per-partner) has to a large extent displaced many of the values that were traditionally thought to characterize law firm life. Making a practice profitable has increased the demand for lawyers to bill hours, which has in turn forced firms to raise salaries, which has further increased the need to bill hours. Partner-to-associate ratios have changed dramatically and complaints about tedious work and work-life balance have grown. At the same time, corporate clients have become increasingly unhappy with the cost of legal services and begun to pressure partners to keep costs down, often by minimizing the billing of junior attorneys. Where does that leave young associates who need seasoning and have yet to learn practical skills? Who should pay for the cost of training these new associates? What can law schools do to address these issues and to better prepare graduates for the developing trends in the legal profession?

Join Stanford Law School Dean, Larry Kramer, as he moderates a panel discussing the current legal profession and what to anticipate next in the practice of law. Panelists include: Mark Chandler ’81, General Counsel Cisco Systems, Inc., Gordon Davidson ’74, Partner & Chairman at Fenwick & West, Kate Ilana Frucher ’00, General Manager at Axiom, James D. Holzhauer, Chairman at Mayer Brown, and Rebecca Love Kourlis ’76 (BA ’73), Executive Director at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

This program offers 2 MCLE credits;approval is pending. Guests are encouraged to attend.

Breakfast will be served prior to the panel in Crocker Garden at 8:30am

To register, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (650) 723-2730  or alumni.relations@law.stanford.edu