The professions of the 1980s are completely different from the situation in the 1930s. They are now subject to the norms of business rather than the standards of professionalism.1 It is part of the purpose of this article to show that the practice of law has become a business like any other business activity. As a result of this trans formation, the norms and standards so often identified with the professions have eroded.
In the next part of the article, I outline some of the demographic changes that have taken place in the legal profession and the reasons for them. This is followed by a discussion of how the large corporate law firm operates, using two case studies: an example of antitrust litigation and the restructuring of an international corporation
