This panel will provide a socio-economic analysis of the
larger societal forces affecting the rule of law and the business model that underlies law practice.
These forces have increased the demand for "practice-ready" lawyers and undercut the once
sharp division between J.D.s and others who deal with legal matters. They have
also called into question the ability of the profession to serve as a force for
justice and to maintain appropriate professional and ethical standards. The
panel, which features four sitting law school deans, will address the change in
"big law" from a profession to a business, the degree to which the
legal profession has priced itself out of "small law" (e.g., routine
wills divorces, and traffic tickets), the assault on the "middle"
(liability caps, restrictions on class actions, mandatory arbitration
agreements and other forms of ADR), the eroding barriers between the J.D. licensed
profession and other legal activities, and the implications for legal education