Eric LewisReflections on the Changing Legal Profession Upon 40 Years in Practice
Eric Lewis, chair of the boutique litigation firm Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss, looks back on how the legal profession has changed over the 40 years he’s been practicing.
January 13, 2025 at 11:05 AM
6 minute read
This is my fortieth year practicing law. It sounds like a long time, but it creeps up on you. The legal profession has changed in ways that are almost beyond comprehension to young lawyers. Much of it has been positive.
When I first started, we wrote our briefs and memos on yellow pads, which then went to the “word processing center” and a draft might reappear late at night or the next day. No cell phones. No remote access. Lawyers still dictated. No electronic filing; you needed to be in the taxi to get to the courthouse by midnight.
I worked for three name brand “mega-firms” over my summers, ranging in size from 135 to 150 lawyers. They felt too big and so I went to a civil litigation firm with 12 lawyers; I still practice with some of those folks and after a few reconfigurations, we are now 35 lawyers.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Weil Lures DOJ Antitrust Lawyer, As Government Lateral Moves Pick Up Before Inauguration Day
4 minute read
Changes at the Top: How 'Different Leadership Skills' Are Prevailing in Big Law
Trending Stories
- 1What KPMG's London Experience Reveals About Its U.S. Strategy
- 2Some Los Angeles Law Schools Begin Spring Semester Remotely
- 3'Full-Throated Apology': Legal Theory in the Grant Cardone/John Legere Feud
- 4Waking to a Memorable and Unimaginable Dream 38 Years Ago
- 5Sidley M&A Lateral Duo Includes Simpson Hire From November
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
