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Chapter 1 – Introduction to Stephen J. McGarry1
Leaders in Legal Business
Founder, AILFN, Lex Mundi, WSG,
& HG.org
Is law a profession, a business, or both? For decades, every law school, bar association,
and law society has posed this proverbial question.2 The fact is that today, the profession of law
annually generates more than $700 billion dollars in revenue. There are several million people
employed in the legal profession, and hundreds of thousands support it through products and
services.3 Essentially, the business of law is to manage the profession: the revenue, the people,
and the processes required to achieve outcomes that benefit clients.
The legal profession exists because of the need for advice about the law as well as the
relationships defined by the law. Attorneys earn their living through their respective clients who
enter daily into legal relationships. The use of lawyers varies from country to country. Aside
from criminal cases, hiring an attorney is generally optional. Because representation by a lawyer
may not be necessary, there is usually no specific requirement that a consumer or a business use
a lawyer; the lawyer must add value. For example, a contract between two parties is still a
contract regardless of who the parties are. Therefore, a lawyer adds value for the client when he
or she can demonstrate the ability and has the resources to achieve the client’s desired objectives.
The business of law ranges from providing ideas to supplying equipment in order to make
the practice of law more effective and efficient. There are individuals and companies for which
law is purely a business. They support the business of law through the services and products they
provide. Their activity is commonly referred to as “law practice management.”4 Leaders in Legal
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 whose members bill their clients an estimated $20 billion dollars
annually. In 1995 he founded HG.org, one of the first five significant legal websites. Today it is among the world’s largest sites with more than
10 million pages and 1.7 million unique users each month who download almost 2 million pages. In 2015 McGarry initiated with the Association
of International Law Firm Networks, or AILFN, an association of the leading law firm networks. Its project Locate Law Networks provides
instant access to more than 300,000 lawyers in 5,000 offices, billing clients $120 billion dollars annually.
McGarry is admitted by exam to the bars of Minnesota, Texas, and Louisiana. In 2002 American Lawyer Media (ALM) published McGarry’s
treatise, Multidisciplinary Practices and Partnerships. McGarry has authored numerous articles on associations, international business
transactions and taxation. His most recent publication, Leaders in Legal Business (2015), has been downloaded more than 15000 times. McGarry
is also an author of several poems in Spanish. One is on strategic planning entitled: Juegos de Puntos. McGarry is a painter McGarry’s Gallery of
Art. Observations and opinions are those of the author and not of any organization or any member of an organization.
Attorney Editor: Jennifer Kain Kilgore is the attorney editor for both AILFN and Enjuris.com. She previously worked as an associate attorney
with the Boston-area law firm of Brown & Knight, LLC and concentrated her practice in the areas of estate planning, probate, business planning,
and real estate. She is also the principal of Writmore, LLC, providing editorial, research, and writing services. She was the managing editor of the
New England Journal of International & Comparative Law and was published in Volume 18.1. Ms. Kilgore has worked with the Massachusetts
Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston, and the Boston Municipal Court.
She served as attorney editor for the popular financial news website Benzinga.com and was also the editorial assistant for two award-winning
regional magazines, Berkshire Living and Berkshire Business Quarterly. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. Ms. Kilgore graduated from
Ohio University (B.S., Journalism, cum laude, 2005) and the New England School of Law (J.D., 2012).
2 See Champ S. Andrews, The Law: A Business or a Profession? (June 1908), 107 YALE L. J. 602 (JUNE 1908); Jeremy M. Miller, Is Law a
Business or a Profession – And Does It Really Matter? 107 LOS ANGELES D. J. (1994).
3 Mari Sako, Make-or-Buy Decisions in Legal Services: A Strategic Perspective, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (2010),
http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/tile_image/sako-make-or-buy-in-legal-services.pdf.
4 Law practice management is the study and practice of business administration in the legal context, including such topics as workload and staff
1
Leaders in Legal Business
Founder, AILFN, Lex Mundi, WSG,
& HG.org
Is law a profession, a business, or both? For decades, every law school, bar association,
and law society has posed this proverbial question.2 The fact is that today, the profession of law
annually generates more than $700 billion dollars in revenue. There are several million people
employed in the legal profession, and hundreds of thousands support it through products and
services.3 Essentially, the business of law is to manage the profession: the revenue, the people,
and the processes required to achieve outcomes that benefit clients.
The legal profession exists because of the need for advice about the law as well as the
relationships defined by the law. Attorneys earn their living through their respective clients who
enter daily into legal relationships. The use of lawyers varies from country to country. Aside
from criminal cases, hiring an attorney is generally optional. Because representation by a lawyer
may not be necessary, there is usually no specific requirement that a consumer or a business use
a lawyer; the lawyer must add value. For example, a contract between two parties is still a
contract regardless of who the parties are. Therefore, a lawyer adds value for the client when he
or she can demonstrate the ability and has the resources to achieve the client’s desired objectives.
The business of law ranges from providing ideas to supplying equipment in order to make
the practice of law more effective and efficient. There are individuals and companies for which
law is purely a business. They support the business of law through the services and products they
provide. Their activity is commonly referred to as “law practice management.”4 Leaders in Legal
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 whose members bill their clients an estimated $20 billion dollars
annually. In 1995 he founded HG.org, one of the first five significant legal websites. Today it is among the world’s largest sites with more than
10 million pages and 1.7 million unique users each month who download almost 2 million pages. In 2015 McGarry initiated with the Association
of International Law Firm Networks, or AILFN, an association of the leading law firm networks. Its project Locate Law Networks provides
instant access to more than 300,000 lawyers in 5,000 offices, billing clients $120 billion dollars annually.
McGarry is admitted by exam to the bars of Minnesota, Texas, and Louisiana. In 2002 American Lawyer Media (ALM) published McGarry’s
treatise, Multidisciplinary Practices and Partnerships. McGarry has authored numerous articles on associations, international business
transactions and taxation. His most recent publication, Leaders in Legal Business (2015), has been downloaded more than 15000 times. McGarry
is also an author of several poems in Spanish. One is on strategic planning entitled: Juegos de Puntos. McGarry is a painter McGarry’s Gallery of
Art. Observations and opinions are those of the author and not of any organization or any member of an organization.
Attorney Editor: Jennifer Kain Kilgore is the attorney editor for both AILFN and Enjuris.com. She previously worked as an associate attorney
with the Boston-area law firm of Brown & Knight, LLC and concentrated her practice in the areas of estate planning, probate, business planning,
and real estate. She is also the principal of Writmore, LLC, providing editorial, research, and writing services. She was the managing editor of the
New England Journal of International & Comparative Law and was published in Volume 18.1. Ms. Kilgore has worked with the Massachusetts
Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston, and the Boston Municipal Court.
She served as attorney editor for the popular financial news website Benzinga.com and was also the editorial assistant for two award-winning
regional magazines, Berkshire Living and Berkshire Business Quarterly. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. Ms. Kilgore graduated from
Ohio University (B.S., Journalism, cum laude, 2005) and the New England School of Law (J.D., 2012).
2 See Champ S. Andrews, The Law: A Business or a Profession? (June 1908), 107 YALE L. J. 602 (JUNE 1908); Jeremy M. Miller, Is Law a
Business or a Profession – And Does It Really Matter? 107 LOS ANGELES D. J. (1994).
3 Mari Sako, Make-or-Buy Decisions in Legal Services: A Strategic Perspective, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (2010),
http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/tile_image/sako-make-or-buy-in-legal-services.pdf.
4 Law practice management is the study and practice of business administration in the legal context, including such topics as workload and staff
1
