Is the Legal Profession Neglecting its Young?

Physicians follow their academic training with years in hospitals, through internship and residency, partly as cheap labor, but under the watchful/critical eye of more experienced physicians. Psychologists follow their years of classes with a year’s internship and two years’ supervised experience (generally in a clinic or hospital) before they can be licensed for independent practice. Social workers must also garner two years’ of closely supervised clinical experience before seeking independent licensure. Nurses, teachers, barbers, etc. all have mandated mechanisms for apprenticeship before allowing novices to go out and practice on their own.

Not so for most lawyers. After a mere three years in law school, and usually very little exposure to the real-life practice of law, new attorneys leave the nest on their own and, to mix metaphors, dive right into the deep end. Those who obtain employment in agencies or large firms at least have some kind of structure in place to undo their mistakes and provide some kind of quality control, though many find that they are highly stressed, given little guidance and many demands. But the many, many new lawyers who jump right into solo or small firm practice are often forced to learn on the job, making their inevitable mistakes at the expense of real clients. Those who care deeply about doing the best job often develop anxiety symptoms. Those who are less troubled by such worries may find themselves doing things that could come back to haunt them by way of undesired input from the Office of Bar Counsel.

Overwhelmed young lawyers may also find it harder to justify taking the time for continuing education courses – these, too, are mandated for health professionals, teachers, etc., but not for Massachusetts attorneys.

I am not pointing any fingers – this is the way the profession has evolved, and systems that are firmly in place are notoriously difficult to change, even if there were a consensus. Given this perilous state of affairs, it is impressive to recognize that, in the vast majority of cases, it seems that no great harm comes to clients or to lawyers’ careers (aside from stress-induced effects on health, family life, etc.). Is this because new lawyers get case-specific help from their more seasoned colleagues? Not so much.

Some bar associations have mentoring programs, generally offered in a group format, that provide a helpful kind of overarching support, but not specific advice on what to do at the moment when a lawyer, trying to appear knowledgeable, is suddenly confronted by an unforeseen development in the evolution of a case. When I was a new psychologist, as anxious as I felt when a patient seemed potentially suicidal or otherwise unsafe, it was immensely helpful to know that I could contact my clinical supervisor for guidance. In the analogous legal situation, some new attorneys are fortunate enough to have personal relationships with voices of experience, or are assertive enough to track down those they don’t know but who are often kind enough to offer their perspectives. (At least one other setting reportedly provides close supervision to newer attorneys: agencies that operate under the Committee for Public Counsel Services.)

When new and anxious practitioners come to LCL for consultation, we try to help them identify and pursue sources of helpful input. In some of our discussion groups, like the Solo Practitioners Forum, they get support. But let’s hope that, over time, the profession itself will find additional ways to guide its progeny into the jungle of real life practice.

[Coming very soon: Counterpoint to the above.]