Page 252 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (q)
P. 252
Chapter 8 – Epilogue
Stephen J. McGarry1
Founder, AILFN, Lex Mundi, WSG,
& HG.org
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
transported 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 newspaper 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 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
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 1,100,000 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.
Jennifer Kain Kilgore is the VP of Editorial for AILFN and an associate attorney with MALIS | LAW. 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).
237
Stephen J. McGarry1
Founder, AILFN, Lex Mundi, WSG,
& HG.org
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
transported 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 newspaper 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 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
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 1,100,000 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.
Jennifer Kain Kilgore is the VP of Editorial for AILFN and an associate attorney with MALIS | LAW. 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).
237
