Inverted Thinking About Law As A Profession Or Business Thomas Morgan Summary

Thomas D. Morgan wrote “Inverted Thinking about Law as a Profession or Business” from Journal of The Professional Lawyer. The purpose of this article is to discuss whether the practice of law should be seen as a business or profession. This article lays out the differences in meaning to business and profession as it applies to the practice. It also assesses the type of work lawyers do and the personal characteristics involved to practice. The author supports his ideas as well as his argument, by discussing each element of law as a business or profession to support his opinion. The remainder of this essay will analyze the method the author uses to organize his article, as well as further explaining the content.

The assumed audience of this

article could be laypersons or the general public. The way this article is written is not difficult to read, but the language of an attorney and some of the vocabulary used in the article, is very professional and intellectual. For example: “...lawyers have the exclusive possession of the esoteric knowledge required and are therefore the only ones able to advise clients on any matter concerning the law” (Morgan 121). I am aware that the diction and technical terminology involved in the law is very different from the vernacular in everyday speaking. It is a bit overwhelming at the time, but I know that the more I use this formality, the easier it will become to write and understand. I will need to be familiar with the diction to read and write this way in my future career as an attorney.

Thomas Morgan begins his article with an introduction explaining what to expect when reading the article.

This article does not have a bibliography, instead it has footnotes throughout each page. The article goes into further detail in the footnotes about specific references mentioned, which are marked with a number that correspond with its’ explanation. Morgan is referencing important people, events, other articles, and places that pertain to the article’s content. The author neatly separates each topic with headings and subheadings and discusses each aspect of his argument as to whether the practice of law is a business or profession. For example: “III. Problems Lawyers Have Thinking about Professionalism Today” as a heading (Morgan 122). As a subheading: “Increased Number of Practitioners” (Morgan 123). The author uses this form of writing style to organize and clearly display each element of the article for the reader to better understand its’

essence.

The purpose of the article is to offer a challenge to other researchers and to inform the reader about each side of the argument, while also expressing its’ importance. Morgan asks the question “Why should all this matter to us?” (Morgan 128). He is asserting his point of view and backing his argument with evidence and facts about the topic. The rhetoric in this article is somewhat typical of the writing style I will be exposed to later on in my career. The legal profession is based on facts and evidence to reach a verdict, the author inhibits these qualities in the article. Legal writing involves many citations, like the author refers to in his footnotes. Each component the author includes is important to the comprehension of the article.

The author leads us to believe he is also an attorney by revealing this line in the conclusion “We lawyers pat ourselves on the back and try to sound public-spirited when we claim our profession spreads justice far and wide, but if we are honest with ourselves, we know the reality is otherwise.” (Morgan 127,128) He associates himself with other attorneys by saying “we lawyers” and allowing the reader to assume he is an attorney.

The author also references another book he has written in the introduction. He states: “In my book The Vanishing American Lawyer, I declared: ‘Law in America is not a profession—and that’s a good thing.’ I intended the statement to be provocative, but some responders found it troubling.” (Morgan 115). Morgan discloses that he is not new to writing or to the topic; he has published previous literature about lawyers. He is also critical of his own field in the sense that he leaves room for debate in whether law is a profession or a

business.

The author wants us to know his position on the subject at the end of the article. He believes that the practice of law is not a profession, it is a business. The skills and behaviors of lawyers have developed since the 1970’s. The factors influencing these developments are globalization, more subject matter complexity, increased number of practitioners, and the technology revolution. Personal character and professional values shape the professional status of an attorney. The foundation for professionalism rests on the business provided. Morgan’s main argument is that you must first have a business to efficiently thrive as a company, to then turn it into a profession. He states “... enterprises can be effectively regulated in ways that do not impair their performance or their ability to innovate.” (Morgan 128).

What can be taken away from reading this article is, that the practice of law can be seen as both a business and a profession because the qualities of each go hand-in-hand to achieve the other. In general, lawyers have to gain experience over many years to be good at their jobs. Personal characteristics, education, and exposure/interaction are major influences in the skills and experiences attorneys receive. With this experience, lawyers can turn their business into a profession.
The way this article is written is organized and simplified into sections to make it easier to read and comprehend. The legal field is similar in that, attorneys are given many files and have to sift through the important information to effectively pursue a case. Lawyers “brief” a case, which means interpreting the document’s content down to simpler terms, as well as highlighting only the substantial information. Much like I had to do when analyzing this article.

Works Cited
Morgan, Thomas D. “Inverted Thinking about Law as a Profession or Business.” American Bar
Association, The Journal of The Professional Lawyer, 2016, Source:
www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/morgan_inverted_thinking.authcheckdam.pdf.