Recently, I read a long article of nearly 6,000 words written by a lawyer, "The Three "Poisons" of the Industry: The Boss of Barristers, the Salary of Excellent Lawyers, and the Self-Dwarfing of Young Lawyers", written sincerely. Inspired by the similar title of his article and "I hope that people of insight in the circle will think more deeply", I wrote this article.
Senior lawyer boss
Previously, in an article titled "How Many Law Firms Have Opened Private Enterprises That Have Become Law Firm Directors" (click on the blue font to read), we quoted an online post that reads, "It was reported that a certain lawyer director was still in a leadership position in the local lawyers association, introduced social capital to set up a company, held a certain amount of company shares on behalf of himself, and controlled the law firm through this company." ”
Whether a law firm is for-profit has long been a long-debated legal topic. The administrative approval procedures for the establishment of law firms and the fact that they do not require industrial and commercial registration to practice law firms indicate that the state does not recognize the commercial profit-making nature of law firms in terms of legal and administrative management. However, in reality, how many law firms are still in the hands of "the decision-making body of the partners' meeting or the lawyers' conference for the partnership law firm or the law firm established by the state" as stipulated in the "Measures for the Administration of Law Firms"?
In particular, those so-called senior lawyers, and the leaders of law firms who are rich in various social resources and occupy various organizational minds in the local area, in the face of the torrent of market economy, do not think about expanding the social role of the lawyer industry and improving the process of rule of law, but blindly think about obtaining the maximum benefits from the lawyer industry and law firm management.
The means adopted are to constantly innovate in the management of law firms, with the aim of evading administrative supervision, taking the management and operation of law firms and the practice fees of other lawyers into their own pockets, and even taking risks at the expense of bribery, low prices, evasion, etc., in the name of law firms, to win over case sources, squeeze peers, and interfere in the judiciary. Whether it is a large national law firm or a small local law firm, most of the law firm directors of unincorporated organizations are most concerned about how to maximize their monetization through the operation of law firms, and they have become large and small private business owners.
The impact is that how to generate revenue has become the top priority for the leaders of senior law firms, and once there are lawyers who dare to be more serious and have a negative impact, the first reaction is to cut the relationship and protect the interests of the law firm. They only care about the lawyer's business income, the fairness and justice on which the legal profession depends, and the correct implementation of the law, etc., are just tools. The "leading figures" in the industry are like this, and there is a "boss" who has opened three more law firms: "independent" brand operation, common resource utilization, homogeneous operation and management, and the same capital control", and commercial capital has begun to be deeply involved in the lawyer industry.
Part-time work of key lawyers
The bosses of industry leaders, most of the directors of law firms retreat behind the scenes to strategize, control, appear in court to respond to lawsuits, business contacts and other daily legal affairs, will not come forward again, relying on their own cultivation, as a right-hand man of the backbone lawyers of the law firm.
The so-called backbone lawyers refer to those senior lawyers who have been in the industry for more than ten years, have their own independent case sources, and can intermittently form their own small teams, but have relied on the leadership of the law firm to a certain extent along the way.
Within the law firm, the backbone lawyers are called big names and team leaders, the management of the law firm is entrusted with management responsibilities such as partners and executive directors, and the industry actively participates in the election of the bar association and other committees.
Most of the backbone lawyers are in a state of connecting the previous and the next, "After a few years, the work will be done, but the heart begins to contradict, not independent, less money and more work, all year round, there is not much left, there is no hope for the future, let alone any lofty ideals; Independent, there is no work at all, and in such a lively industry outside, he is a stranger. ”
The lawyer industry is controlled by capitalization and commercialization, and new lawyers are constantly renovating to find development opportunities, and law firm bosses are always on guard against replacing them, and they often care about how to maintain the status of the existing law firm, coveting the management of the law firm after the retirement of the director of the law firm after a few years, and thinking about how to bury a backup way out. Accordingly, whenever the leadership of a law firm is replaced, it is generally a time when the backbone lawyers fall apart.
Young lawyers have low self-esteem
Someone once said that the first period of the lawyer industry was from before the reform and opening up to the outbreak of the epidemic for decades, at that time, there were fewer lawyers and more business, as long as they were engaged in lawyers, there was no shortage of business; Some people also say that now that the legal novice has entered the lawyer industry, he joined ** in 49 years. These are the situations that new lawyers face when they enter the industry.
As of the first half of 2023, there are 6770,000 people, compared to 47 at the end of 2019 before the pandemic30,000 people, and in three and a half years, the number of lawyers has increased by 2040,000, an increase of about 43%; According to the plan, the number of lawyers will reach 750,000 by 2025. As we all know, in the past few years, most of all walks of life have been in a downturn, and the lawyer industry is in one of the industries most affected by the epidemic, and it is facing such a rapid expansion of the team, and the severity of the industry ecology can be imagined.
The first issue left to young lawyers is survival. Whether it is what the instructor said, he has survived the five-year bottleneck period and the seven-year run-in period, and has reached the boundless income without a ceiling, or it is expected by the society, performed in film and television dramas, and popularized in publicity, lawyers are engaged in a bright and lofty profession, but they are not as profound as realistic education.
More and more young lawyers are devoting themselves to the Internet and putting the most energy into self-marketing. Bee outfits, palace outfits, one-word horses. Melodramas, low-price shows, beauty shows. All of them appeared on the online platform for lawyer publicity and promotion, and even in a trainee lawyer training course in a city, a senior lawyer also explained the charm of female lawyers' dress for handling cases in the court.
How many young lawyers still believe that as long as they have strong legal expertise, they can find a place in the industry and have industry development prospects? How many young lawyers still believe that the fragrance of wine is not afraid of deep alleys, and as long as they uphold fairness and justice, they will be recognized by society?
Although many people will explain the difficulties of reality and the helplessness of choice, as the author of the article said, "I deeply feel that China's legal industry is facing a series of severe challenges." These issues not only affect the development of individual lawyers, but also have a negative impact on the future of the profession as a whole. ”
How to fix it? The author of the article put forward three suggestions, "barristers should return to the court and return to business", "the firm should give more opportunities and incentives to excellent lawyers", and "the firm should give more attention and training opportunities to young lawyers", so that "barristers are the lighthouse of the industry, excellent lawyers are the main force, and young lawyers are the new force", and over time, a virtuous circle of the industry will be realized.
Yan Yujun feels that the first thing to solve is the legal positioning of the lawyer industry. Whether to take the road of rule of law and marketization, or to return to the previous road of administration and massification, rather than the current ambiguity in these two directions, just let the number of employees grow. Second, since there are so many practitioners, they should be given more professional rights, professional roles and professional legal protection, so that members of society can better understand the social necessity of the lawyer's profession. Again, everyone is welcome to add.
Note: This article is an original article by "Smoke Grammar Explanation" Legal Gas Station