That'll Be $250 Per Hour

Lawyers in large law firms may be losing their independence and professional integrity as law becomes a trade rather than a calling, according to three of four panelists at a Harvard Law School symposium held yesterday morning.

"The Role and Social Value of the Large Law Firm," moderated by Associate Law School Dean Philip B. Heymann, attracted an audience of 200, mostly Law School alumni.

Heymann defined the ideal of "professionalism" for lawyers as an obligation to maintain scrupulous moral standards for themselves and their colleagues. He called on lawyers to use their profession's unusual freedom and power to apply ethical considerations to practical issues.

Michael A. Cooper '57, an executive in the firm of Sullivan and Cromwell and head of the Harvard Law School Alumni Fund, described himself as "the hare set before the hounds," as he defended large firms' capacity for public service.

Three other panelists acknowledged that large firms can afford to accept more cases without payment. However, each argued that lawyers who join large firms, most of which have close ties to business, are easily seduced by the profit motive.

Jamie S. Gorelick '72, a member of the small firm of Miller, Cassidy, Larroca and Lewin, said the sheer size of the nation's most venerated firms prevented their members from sharing political and moral goals and discouraged cooperation. She said this characteristic undermined the principle that bans law firms from representing two clients with conflicting interests, and discouraged unpaid public-interest work.

Felix Frankfurter Professor of law Abram Chayes '43 agreed with Gorelick's criticisms. He said he was disheartened to be "training so many of these young people to go off and do things that you wouldn't do yourself and which are somewhat problematic in an ethical sense."

Frederick Schwarz Jr. '57, who serves as the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, is also an opponent of large firms. He voiced concern over a loss of the professional sense of obligation to act in the public interest. "If professionalism is damaged or extinguished," he warned, "the large firm will fall with it."