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1-18 Legal Econ. News 1 (1963-1966)

handle is hein.journals/lecnews1 and id is 1 raw text is: E( GUEST EDITORIAL This first issue of the Legal Economics News is an- other milestone in the work of the American Bar Asso- ciation in this field. The Association has been inter- ested for many years in the economics of our profession. But it has only been since 1958 that a sustained and major effort bas been devoted to this subject. In 1958 a special committee on Economics of the Law Practice was created by the House of Delegates, and this became a standing committee of the Associa- tion in 1961. This committee, under the dynamic leader- ship of John C. Satterfield, created an awareness and understanding of the problem which had not theretofore existed. The activities of the committee have continued to emphasize the importance of educating the bar on the economic status of the profession, and on proper ways of improving this status. A series of pamphlets has been published and distributed without charge to members of the Association. A start has been made towards the es- tablishment of a permanent department on bar economics at ABA Headquarters in Chicago, and it is hoped that this department will develop into a major instrument of service. The committee and the staff at Headquarters have worked closely with the economics committees of state bar associations, and endeavored to provide a clearing house of information as to bar activity on this subject. In 1962, in collaboration with California's Contin- uing Education Program and the Joint Committee on Continuing Legal Education of the American Law Insti- tute and the American Bar Association, The Lawyer's Handbook was published. This 525-page volume repre- sents the most comprehensive and authoritative compil- ation of information on law office management. Due to The purpose of this newsletter is threefold: 1) to keep the state and local bar associations with economics committees informed in the field of legal economics, 2) to impress the importance of this relatively new aspect of the legal pro- fession upon those bar associations which have not yet initiated economics committees, and 3) to provide a medium through which all interested bar associations can keep each other informed of their progress and express their ideas in this field. The newsletter will eventually be pub- lished quarterly and will automatically be distributed to state and local bar association presidents, secretaries, economics committee chairmen and members and ABA Pack- age Plan subscribers. LEGA L fic Br ...... ia ... DjONOMICS I APRIL, 1963 the generosity of West Publishing Company, the Asso- ciation was able to offer this volume to members at a cost appreciably less than a normal commercial price. The reception by the bar has been enthusiastic, and a total of 9,696 volumes has been sold tip to this time- in addition to copies given by West free of charge to new members. This is merely the briefest summary of the activities of the Association in the field of bar economics. And all of this has been accomplished within the framework of the historic position of the legal profession, namely, that the first concern of every lawyer is fidelity and ser- vice to his client and the public, with private gain al- ways subordinate to these responsibilities. But the strength and independence of the bar is manifestly re- lated to its econemic health. It is therefore the duty of the organized bar to safeguard this health in every proper way. The publication of this newsletter will constitute an important medium for information to individual lawyers and particularly to state and local cpmmittees charged with responsibility for bar economics. This is a forward and useful step. Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Former Chairman ABA Committee on Economics of Law Practice BACKGROUND OF THE ECONOMICS OF LAW PRACTICE Interest in the economics of the legal profession is, as has been mentioned, relatively new. Until 1958 when American Bar Association President Charles S. Rhyne appointed a Special Committee on Economics of Law Practice and brought this field under national attention, work in legal economics had been only local and spor- adic. Prior to 1958 the ABA's work in this field had consisted only of the realization, obtained from govern- ment income statistics, that attorneys' incomes were falling behind those of the other professions, and some study in law office layout in an attempt to introduce more efficient office methods. Since the establishment of the ABA's Economics Committee, which is now a standing or permanent com- mittee, it has published a series of six pamphlets de- signed to cover the most urgent economic problems of

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