Large Law Firm Structure and Culture (Stewart)
Additional Information
Skills Training
None
Grading
20% Participation,
20% Paper,
60% Other (We will have a final project which will be 60% of the course grade. Class participation will be 20%, and two short writing assignments will count 10% each. There will be no final exam.
)
No
Class meets in person.
Meeting Times/Location
T 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Silverman Hall 240A
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
2.0
The Business of Big Law – Course Synopsis
“They didn’t teach us that in law school.” That refrain is one I have heard from dozens of associates during 40 years at Ballard Spahr, where I served as Chair of the Firm (12 years), Strategic Planning Partner (seven years), and Hiring Partner (three years), among other leadership roles. The course I propose to teach—The Business of Big Law—is designed to fill the information gap for those who aspire to careers in large, prestigious firms, as many of your graduates do. This idea isn’t new—such practical course offerings are taught at other law schools—but in this case the instructor would be the longtime leader of an Am Law 100 firm. The course would examine the growth of Big Law and the ways its evolution has changed the practice and profession of law. We would examine how the structure of large law firms influences the careers, compensation, client relationships, and professional development of young lawyers—and even how they live their lives. The challenges of work from home, the value of pro bono, the tightrope walk of work-life balance, the challenge of difficult partners and clients—we would delve into these and other of-the-moment issues. In short, we would explore how organization and policy drive culture. The course would prepare future lawyers to navigate the quirks and traps of Big Law and to understand and detect the differences among firms. Students who completed the course would be far more confident and well-informed as they began their careers and better equipped to determine early on how to manage their careers. Moreover, this course would provide students with a foundation to anticipate and embrace continued rapid change in the profession. At the end of this course, and in lieu of a final exam, each student would be required to form a law firm, on paper, and to explain their decisions with respect to organization and culture; conflicts (business and legal); development of young lawyers; and pro bono work. Students would be expected to explain how the structure of their firm would contribute to its intended culture. I anticipate that this project would entail significant research and analysis.