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Chapter 9 – Epilogue Leaders in Legal Business
Stephen McGarry1
Founder Lex Mundi & WSG
At its core, the argument (against advertising) presumes that attorneys must conceal from
themselves and from their clients the real-life fact that lawyers earn their livelihood at the
bar. We suspect that few attorneys engage in such self-deception.… Bankers and engineers
advertise, and yet these professions are not regarded as undignified.
Bates v. Arizona, 433 U.S. 350, 369 (1977)
The business of law has radically changed over the past 40 years. This change was
underway before Bates v. Arizona, in which the Supreme Court authorized advertising. The case
tranported the business of law out of the shadows and into the open. It meant that lawyers had the
constitutional right to treat the practice and profession of law as a business.
The case was brought against John Bates and Van O’Steen, partners in a two attorney legal
clinic they started almost right out of law school. While the case involved only a small printed ad
in the local newpaper advertising reasonable priced legal service, the ripple effects from the
decision ultimately have produced a tsunami going beyond the United States. It affected the entire
world’s legal profession. Internationalization and now globalization spread the the idea around the
world that law is indeed a business with advertising, marketing, pictures, websites, logos,
directories, rankings, mergers, bankruptcies, alternative structures, consultants, networks,
takeovers, and more.
Ethic rules were not ignored, but they simply could not apply when dozens of firms had
more than 15 offices outside of London or New York. Advertising their offices in the United States
meant indirectly advertising the offices in other countries. Local firms remained handcuffed by the
rules and sought out business alternatives to protect their market. The underlying ethical rules
governing the practice and the business of law began to erode.
More competition meant that more services were offered and more products were created
to allow firms to openly compete. Products and services were now aimed at getting a competitive
advantage and increasing profit. Almost anything seemed to be okay for the small advantage of
obtaining and keeping a client.
However, the business of law was still largely tethered to the earth until the mid-1990s.
The Internet and communications technology propelled the business of law into a new era. The
Internet, while applicable to every business, has asserted a profound effect because law is a
business based upon information. In the practice of law, it is information on clients and opponents.
In the business of law, it is information on business practices.
The authors of this compendium have explored each aspect both on the micro- and macro-
levels of the business of law. Each of the chapters in this book relates back to the changes that
1 Stephen McGarry, B.A., M.A., J.D., and LL.M. (Taxation), founded World Services Group (WSG), a multidisciplinary network, in 2002. As
president he grew it to 150 firms that have 21,000 professionals in 600 offices in more than 100 countries. In 1989 McGarry founded Lex Mundi,
the world’s largest law firm network. As president he grew it to 160 law firms that today have 21,000 attorneys in 600 offices in 100-plus countries.
These two networks represent 2 percent of all the lawyers on earth. In 1995 he founded HG.org, one of the first legal websites. Today, it is among
the world’s largest sites with more than five million pages and 900,000 users each month who download almost two million pages. McGarry is
admitted by exam to the bars of Minnesota, Texas, and Louisiana. In 2002 American Lawyer Media (ALM) published McGarry’s treatise on
Multidisciplinary Practices. McGarry has authored numerous articles on associations and international business transactions.
162
Stephen McGarry1
Founder Lex Mundi & WSG
At its core, the argument (against advertising) presumes that attorneys must conceal from
themselves and from their clients the real-life fact that lawyers earn their livelihood at the
bar. We suspect that few attorneys engage in such self-deception.… Bankers and engineers
advertise, and yet these professions are not regarded as undignified.
Bates v. Arizona, 433 U.S. 350, 369 (1977)
The business of law has radically changed over the past 40 years. This change was
underway before Bates v. Arizona, in which the Supreme Court authorized advertising. The case
tranported the business of law out of the shadows and into the open. It meant that lawyers had the
constitutional right to treat the practice and profession of law as a business.
The case was brought against John Bates and Van O’Steen, partners in a two attorney legal
clinic they started almost right out of law school. While the case involved only a small printed ad
in the local newpaper advertising reasonable priced legal service, the ripple effects from the
decision ultimately have produced a tsunami going beyond the United States. It affected the entire
world’s legal profession. Internationalization and now globalization spread the the idea around the
world that law is indeed a business with advertising, marketing, pictures, websites, logos,
directories, rankings, mergers, bankruptcies, alternative structures, consultants, networks,
takeovers, and more.
Ethic rules were not ignored, but they simply could not apply when dozens of firms had
more than 15 offices outside of London or New York. Advertising their offices in the United States
meant indirectly advertising the offices in other countries. Local firms remained handcuffed by the
rules and sought out business alternatives to protect their market. The underlying ethical rules
governing the practice and the business of law began to erode.
More competition meant that more services were offered and more products were created
to allow firms to openly compete. Products and services were now aimed at getting a competitive
advantage and increasing profit. Almost anything seemed to be okay for the small advantage of
obtaining and keeping a client.
However, the business of law was still largely tethered to the earth until the mid-1990s.
The Internet and communications technology propelled the business of law into a new era. The
Internet, while applicable to every business, has asserted a profound effect because law is a
business based upon information. In the practice of law, it is information on clients and opponents.
In the business of law, it is information on business practices.
The authors of this compendium have explored each aspect both on the micro- and macro-
levels of the business of law. Each of the chapters in this book relates back to the changes that
1 Stephen McGarry, B.A., M.A., J.D., and LL.M. (Taxation), founded World Services Group (WSG), a multidisciplinary network, in 2002. As
president he grew it to 150 firms that have 21,000 professionals in 600 offices in more than 100 countries. In 1989 McGarry founded Lex Mundi,
the world’s largest law firm network. As president he grew it to 160 law firms that today have 21,000 attorneys in 600 offices in 100-plus countries.
These two networks represent 2 percent of all the lawyers on earth. In 1995 he founded HG.org, one of the first legal websites. Today, it is among
the world’s largest sites with more than five million pages and 900,000 users each month who download almost two million pages. McGarry is
admitted by exam to the bars of Minnesota, Texas, and Louisiana. In 2002 American Lawyer Media (ALM) published McGarry’s treatise on
Multidisciplinary Practices. McGarry has authored numerous articles on associations and international business transactions.
162
