Book Review By Carolyn M. Dillinger

Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future By Richard Susskind

Carolyn M. Dillinger

When I first mentioned to Guest Editor Ron Dolin that The Bottom Line has a book review column, his immediate choice was Richard Susskind’s not yet published book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers. After ordering a press copy I excitedly waited for it to arrive. I knew Tomorrow’s Lawyers would be a significant book for the legal profession, yet I thought it would be a huge book with laboriously detailed descriptions of the forces changing the practice of law. When the small envelope arrived I was shocked to find that it contained not just one, but two conveniently sized paperback books. Richard Susskind’s writing is so clean and straightforward, without redundancy, that he only took 165 pages to adequately cover his topic. His audience is the busy legal practitioner, legal educator, law student, and person considering whether to enter the legal profession.

In the first chapter he defines the three drivers of change: the more-for-less challenge, liberalization, and information technology. The more-for-less challenge affects the practice of law because our clients – consumers, small businesses, and in-house counsel – have less money to pay us because of the difficult economy, yet there are increasing amounts of regulation for which they need legal counsel. Hence we are faced with the more (legal work)-for-less (money) challenge.