President's Perspective: Status Quo is Not an Option

by Gary L. Bakke

A decade ago, Alan Toffler wrote Future Shock, in which he predicted that the pace of change will increase at a multiplying rate. We are living that prediction and are beginning to understand that the status quo is not an option. A tidal wave of change will roll over the legal profession in the next few years. As with any tidal wave, literal or figurative, it will rearrange our landscape. It will take innovation and leadership for us to create the future we want and the public deserves.

To be sure, ours is not the only business or profession undergoing unprecedented change. Doctors, stock brokers, travel agents, booksellers - the list is long of those adjusting to the new economic, demographic, and social realities brought on by globalization and new technologies. No one escapes the reality that the Internet affects everything. Information is free and consumers are in control. We can respond by adding value to what we do. We must reemphasize our role as counselors and problem solvers because the reality is that many do not perceive us as such.

Forces of change started to envelope most professions several years ago, but many of us saw only anecdotal evidence in our own practices and did not realize that we were seeing the effects of global change. Change makes us uneasy, especially those of us who are comfortable in our current practices, but it also presents opportunities. Some of us will struggle to maintain our professional life; others will capture enormous opportunities.

As we seek to redefine our professional responsibilities and maintain our relevance in society, we must bear in mind that our role is to serve our clients and the public interest. Part of this challenge is going to be to diversify the racial and gender makeup of our profession. Demographics are changing; we must change too.

We are justifiably proud of our role as defenders of individual rights and liberties. In spite of many faults, America is the most free and just society in the history of the world and the rule of law can take much of the credit. However, we also must acknowledge that many are convinced that lawyers are too expensive, too slow, and cause more problems than we solve. We need to address these perceptions head on. To the extent that those perceptions are based on reality, we must fix the problems. The easiest way to change public perception is to change reality. Unless we provide a valuable and affordable service in a timely manner, we will become irrelevant.

We are not in need of a slick advertising campaign. We cannot assume that the public will respect us and value our profession if they only know and understand us better. We need to make some fundamental changes. Over the next few years we need to reearn public trust and confidence in our profession.

A significant percentage of our citizens cannot afford a lawyer. Thus, they are denied effective access to the third branch of government. We need an effective broad-based effort to assure equal access to justice for all of our citizens. Pro bono efforts will continue to be our key contribution, but we also must increase our efforts to secure adequate public funding for civil legal services and work to reduce the cost by making both the court and our practices more efficient.

Others who can afford a lawyer increasingly opt to represent themselves. Many are convinced that they can do it themselves, and lawyers will only make matters worse. A recent Florida study of pro se litigants showed that although cost is still the largest barrier to hiring a lawyer, more than 40 percent of the respondents indicated that "their case was simple." Add to that, 12 percent said that they do not trust attorneys, and attorneys will only cause delay. Again, if we reemphasize our role as counselors and problem solvers, and reserve the zealous advocacy for those matters that really need to be resolved in court, we can regain our position as one of the helping professions.

We have all heard that justice delayed is justice denied. But how many of us understand that six months is an unreasonable delay for most of our clients? We have become immune to the fact that business operates in hours and days while we measure our progress in months and years. CPA firms are already advertising legal services that are prompt and efficient. Can we afford to ignore this challenge?

Together we can design the future for our profession and for our clients.

Wisconsin Lawyer