Washington Lawyer - July/August 2019 - 20

n its nearly five decades of existence, the D.C.
Bar has witnessed the transformation of the legal
industry and observed how its membership
has been swift to adapt to change. At more than
108,000 members, including more than 1,300 who
live and work abroad, the D.C. Bar is the largest
unified bar in the country and a recognized leader
in the profession.

The Bar is also diversifying as it is expanding, with more women and
people of color engaging in law practice at a higher rate than in any
other generation. Gen Xers and baby boomers make up the majority
of the Bar's membership, and millennials account for more than 17
percent of its members. The gender gap is also narrowing among our
younger generations of attorneys - 51 percent male and 48 percent
female.
Here, Washington Lawyer profiles several Bar members from different
generations to learn more about their experiences in the law, how the
legal landscape has changed over the course of their careers, and
what the Bar must do to best engage attorneys in the future.

PHILIP ALLEN LACOVARA
Former Watergate Counsel

A legend in the law, Philip Allen Lacovara has been practicing for more than five
decades, with a career encompassing government, private practice, and corporate counsel work. Lacovara came to Washington, D.C., in 1966 to clerk on the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then moved to the
Office of the Solicitor General, where he worked for Thurgood Marshall and
Erwin Griswold in the late 1960s.
In 1973 Lacovara was brought in during the Watergate scandal to serve as
counsel to Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. In the 1980s, Lacovara was a
partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, and from 1993 to 2016, he was senior
counsel at Mayer Brown. He also served as president of the D.C. Bar from 1988 to
1989. Lacovara now works as an arbitrator in international commercial disputes.
One major change in the legal world that Lacovara has observed over the
last five decades is the increased emphasis on billable hours, sometimes to the
detriment of other tasks.
"People who came to consciousness as lawyers in the era of social activism in
the 1960s and 1970s [found] that there was a sense of professional responsibility
on the part of the legal profession since the income, even in big firms, was
rather limited," says Lacovara. "There was adequate time to engage in pro bono
and other kinds of professional development activities that today would be
regarded as impinging on billable time."
Lacovara also feels that opportunities for mentorship have diminished over
the years due to the push for billable hours and the greater sophistication of
clients who may resist paying for training time. These changes have led to fewer
opportunities where senior lawyers can work face to face with younger attorneys. The rise of technology also can be an isolating factor, he says.
"Technology has many benefits but can tend to isolate lawyers from one
another in a way that is unfortunate compared to an earlier period when there
was more of a requirement for direct, face-to-face cooperation and training,"
he notes.
Lacovara says the Bar should recognize the fact that young attorneys will be
entering the profession with financial pressure and stress due to student loans
and competition for fewer positions. The Bar also must continue to bang the
drum for giving back to the community through pro bono service, Lacovara
says, encouraging law firm leaders and managers to foster more pro bono
projects.
"The leaders of the Bar must continue to underscore what the real values of the
profession are, and they should be measured not simply by gross revenues or
profits," Lacovara says.

Washington Lawyer - July/August 2019

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