Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A u g u s t 2 0 1 4 17 knows what he is talking about, the fris- son of the big deal, of the hostile takeover, of headline-grabbing litigation. But his experiences, says Liptak, his immersion in the adversarial system, "coarsened my behaviour." It led him to make what he calls "jerk moves." I called Liptak at the paper's Washington bureau to talk to him about his Stetson speech. He expanded on the corrosive effect of money. "On Wall Street everyone cares too much about how much the other guy is making. Most of the big law firms report profit-per-partner to American Lawyer magazine, which publishes a rank- ing. You know how much the guy across the street is making. And it's deeply upset- ting if he's making more than you." I asked him why money is so important to lawyers. "If you don't find your work satisfying," said Liptak, "and don't think it's valuable, well, then, what's left? All that's left is money, and so money is all that matters." As for jerk moves, Liptak told me: "One of the problems of legal practice on Wall Street, maybe just about everywhere, is it's valuable to be seen as tough. Why is that? There's a reason it's called the 'justice sys- tem' and not the 'legal system.' The point of law is justice. How does being tough promote justice? How does being a jerk do anybody any good?" (An additional prob- lem: if you're a big jerk at the office, you're probably a big jerk at home as well. It's hard to compartmentalize.) These admonitions and criticisms are not new. Warnings about the danger of pursuing money to the exclusion of every- thing else can be found in the Bible. Almost all observers of the legal profession agree hourly billing is a terrible system (I've been attacking it for years). Most lawyers don't want to be a jerk, stupidly throwing their weight around at the office and at home (there are exceptions: I once had a partner who liked to say that to be a good lawyer you had to be prepared to bite the legs off metal chairs, a puzzling metaphor). When it comes to the merits of the adversarial sys- tem, opinion is divided, although Liptak's point that the best lawyers usually win, and this warps the justice system, cannot be gainsaid: only corporations, government, and wealthy individuals can afford the best lawyers, and that gives them a huge advan- tage. Don't be poor if you want justice. As for hourly billing, a stupider system of assigning value to professional services has never been invented. It's harmful to lawyers and clients alike. Everyone knows it. Yet, it will not go away, for reasons I can- not understand. What is puzzling is the great strength of these bad attitudes, foolish ideas, and structural flaws in law and the legal profes- sion. In particular, it's extraordinary what a clever lawyer will endure, the opportuni- ties he will forego, for marginal increases in an already substantial income. Is it fail- ure of the imagination, existential fear of the abyss, or just an irrational overwhelm- ing desire for a bigger house and fancier car? I don't know. Perhaps Gordon Gekko was right in the movie Wall Street: "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works." Philip Slayton's latest book is Bay Street: A Novel. He is president of PEN Canada. Follow him on Twitter @philipslayton. O P I N I O N Inside you will find: ȕ BOVQUPEBUFBMQIBCFUJDBM MJTUJOHof more than 78,000 barristers, solicitors and Quebec notaries, corporate counsel, law firms and judges in Canada; ȕ DPOUBDUJOGPSNBUJPO for the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, Federal Cabinet Ministers, departments, boards, commissions and Crown corporations; ȕ MFHBMBOEHPWFSONFOUDPOUBDU JOGPSNBUJPOrelated to each province for the Courts of Appeal, Supreme Courts, County and District Courts, Provincial Courts, law societies, law schools, Legal Aid, and other law-related offices of importance. MORE THAN A PHONE BOOK Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation YOUR INSTANT CONNECTION TO CANADA'S LEGAL NETWORK Hardbound Published February each year On subscription $159 L88804-627 One-time purchase $176 L88804-627 Multiple copy discounts available Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. CANADIAN LAW LIST 2014 LLdir_CL_Aug_14.indd 1 14-07-15 9:52 AM

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