The Organization of Lawyers' Work: Hemispheres, Tectonic Plate Movements, and Continental Drift

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.