Those Big-Money Law Firms - So ...

"The Caesars Palace Coup" and "Servants of the Damned" probably will be the last exposes on the big-money law firms. Likely there will never be another smash hit like "Boston Legal." Arguing in front of the US Supreme Court? Just a client assignment.

The cultural fascination with elite law firms and brilliant lawyers is over. Poof.

Attention and aspirational whatevers have shifted to entrepreneurs and the AI crowd. The lawyers representing them have lost their glam. Come on, you'd rather imagine yourself being Dario Amodei than part of the legal teams representing Anthropic. 

Of course, there are exceptions. 

The gov's insider trading probe triggered a bit of tsk-tsk. The kind of way too ambitious types you bump into law school are being fingered for organizing a ring of intel on proposed mergers and acquisitions. One has turned cooperative so we know this isn't some kind of witch hunt. Bits and pieces to rant about have popped up on social and op-eds in legacy media. 

There's also the residue of the moral outrage resulting from deals made by nine law firms to lift Executive Orders. Stuff in that bag of rot the overall disgust about brandname lawyers getting really chummy with Jeffrey Epstein. 

Yes, in addition, put on that pile of attention-grabbers the angst of junior lawyers with student loan debt and current law students. There it is: anticipation about how AI, along with the cost-efficiency of the need to keep boosting Profits Per Equity Partner, could wipe out their jobs. The issue attracts lots of comments on Reddit, Fishbowl and Glassdoor.

Here it is 2026. Legal journalists like David Lat and the tabloid fun crowd at UK RollonFriday seem like they're chasing yesterday's big story. 

A blip, though, in what is now the same-old is that co-founder of Quinn Emanuel John Quinn has decided not to pound it like he used to. He announced that he's stepping down from the top job and will do some travel. My praise for that on LinkedIn has received more than 1,500 impressions. Maybe former chair of Paul, Weiss Brad Karp will also search for satisfaction beyond big law. His contract is up two years from now. He could decide to try out other talents before that.

So, Moms could be crowing "My son/daughter the founder, not my son/daughter the lawyer." Town & Country documents how upper middle class parents are yanking the kids out of traditional education such as private schools in Greenwich, Connecticut. Very different knowledge, skills and socialization are required to make a good living. Being groomed for Harvard, Stanford and Yale law schools may already have become out-of-date.

Meanwhile, there have been cuts in hiring and in retaining junior lawyers. 

CareErs? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Street-smart Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.


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