The
Organization of Lawyers' Work: Hemispheres,
Tectonic Plate Movements, and Continental Drift
John P. Heinz, Robert L.
Nelson, Edward O. Laumann, and Ethan Michelson
Abstract
This paper compares findings from two surveys of Chicago lawyers,
the first conducted in 1975 and the second in 1995. The earlier
study indicated that the Chicago bar was then divided into two broad
sectors or "hemispheres," one serving corporations and other large
organizations and a second serving individuals and small businesses.
Analyses of the structure of co-practice of the fields of law in
1975 and in 1995 indicate that the hemispheres are now less distinct.
The fields are less tightly connected and less clearly organized--they
became more highly specialized during the intervening 20 years,
and are now organized in smaller clusters. Clear indications of
continuing separation of work by client-type remain, however. Estimates
of the amount of lawyers' time devoted to each of the fields in
1975 and 1995 indicate that corporate practice fields now consume
a larger share of Chicago lawyers' attention, while fields such
as probate receive a declining percentage. Growth is most pronounced
in the litigation fields, especially in business litigation. At
the same time, the mean size of Chicago law firms represented in
the samples increased from 27 in 1975 to 141 in 1995. The management
structures of the firms have evolved from traditional hierarchies
into various forms displaying characteristics of bureaucracy or
formal rationality.
John P. Heinz, School of Law, Northwestern University Robert L. Nelson, Department of Sociology, Northwestern
University Edward O. Laumann, Department of Sociology, University
of Chicago Ethan Michelson, Department of Sociology, University
of Chicago
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