The Glass Must Be Half Empty

Those who are worried about there being too many lawyers may have their wish come true.  The reports (LA Times, Dec 8) are that, for the first time in nearly a decade, the pass rate of the bar examination is less than 50%.  And, there are fewer candidates.  And law school enrollment is declining.  This certainly will decrease the number of lawyers in the future … especially with the Baby Boomers retiring in greater numbers as each year passes.

However, as noted before on the LawBiz Blog, this is the wrong issue to focus on.  Rather, we need to look at how to get our law school graduates and lawyers positioned to earn a living by serving the currently under-served population.

With the turmoil escalating in California by the firing of the Bar’s Executive Director and charges/counter-charges flying all over, the image, reputation and credibility of the bar and its constituent members continues to decline.  No wonder people find it difficult to trust lawyers.  As an aside, I was in a store yesterday and overheard a customer say to the employee, “I’m a lawyer, be careful what you say.”  How arrogant!  I felt the need to later apologize to the employee for his comment.  She apparently is accustomed to that behavior.

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