The big five guerrilla attack on the legal profession reached a new level of firepower when a latter-day Tet offensive was launched recently. Having hired 5,000 lawyers to practice tax, construction, mergers and acquisitions, ERISA and dispute resolution (anything but the practice of law), Ernst & Young has now announced the formation of what it characterizes as a completely “independent” law firm, McKee, Nelson, Ernst & Young.
The latest innovation in uncivil disobedience would be funny (Fox, Bryans & Prudential; Black, White & Allstate; Wolfram, Cramton & AAA come immediately to mind), if it were not, as I see it, yet one more demonstration of the Big Five’s contempt for our profession and its values. The good news may be that, if my suspicions about this operation are confirmed, I believe the disciplinary authorities will have all the ammunition they need to shut it down.
