LAWYER NATION

A study of how the "cartelization" of the legal field denies most Americans proper "access to justice."

Since colonial days, the legal profession has been proud of “its role in the founding of the republic, the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, and the defense of democracy and the rule of law.” Today, however, the profession faces an “an existential crisis” on which “the American democratic experiment hinges,” writes law professor Brescia, author of How Cities Will Save the World. According to multiple studies, the legal system that helped create what can be called the longest-running democratic republic in modern times is inaccessible to most of its own people: 80% of poor Americans, and 50% of those considered middle-class, cannot afford a lawyer. This is partly due to the fact that the field's “professionalization” has rendered it both exclusive and expensive, shutting out countless potential high-quality lawyers and law schools and resulting in the "cartelization" of the field. Brescia concedes the field has overcome crises before, describing how it transformed “virtually every aspect of law practice” following the implementation of strict pandemic protocols, going virtual to a degree most thought impossible. Virtualization made services cheaper and created much-needed access for low-income clients, who sit in the same “tiny square image” as onscreen judges. However, given recent political upheavals unmistakably enabled by lawyers, Brescia makes a convincing case that the legal profession must take massive strides toward reform now. “A robust professionalism, attuned to the needs and broader values of the American system, empowers the legal profession to fulfill its appropriate role within that system,” he writes. If significant reforms are not implemented in the near future, “democracy itself [is] at risk.” General readers may stumble through some of the legalese, but the author’s arguments are well worth discussion.

A powerful examination of the U.S. legal field.