Law Panel Attacks State of Profession

Four renowned Harvard law professors last night blasted corporate law and told the more than 400 barristers-to-be gathered in Ames Courtroom that they have ethical responsibilities.

The panelists--Assistant Professor of Law Susan R. Estrich, Professor of Law Duncan M. Kennedy, Professor of Law Lance Liebman, and Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz--all advocated public service and small firm law over the more popular and lucrative corporate law.

Attorneys run the risk of being snared into what Estrich termed "a cult of complexity," choosing cases on the basis of their difficulty rather than their ethical merit, the four panelists agreed.

"Law is a corrupt and corrupting profession," Dershowitz told the crowded courtroom and spill-over audience watching on closed-circuit television.

In a give and take dialogue with Dean of the Law School James Vorenberg '49, the panel moderator, Dershowitz proposed that the Law School subsidize small law firms and public service agencies to conduct on-campus recruiting of Harvard students.

Vorenberg questioned the feasibility of this idea, mentioning a possible lack of student interest and the possible costs of such a program.

Dershowitz suggested that students settle for a job which pays about $75,000 a year, giving them the option of public service jobs over six-figure salaries in larger institutions.

Just a Ripoff

The image of the Law School as an elite community "is just a ripoff," said Kennedy, who advocated redistributing law students among the six law schools of the Boston area to dispel the Law School's exclusive image.

Estrich disagreed, saying that Harvard serves as an effective door-opening institution and offers those who would not normally have the opportunity a chance to break old sex, race and class barriers.

Even though the panelists all expressed discontent with the image of American lawyers, they said they realized the irony of their opinions.

Dershowitz asked, "If everybody out there really took our advice could Harvard Law School survive? Or do we really depend implicitly on you rejecting our advice?"