Future Roles for Lawyers: Reflections on Crossing the Bar

Sometime ago, the New York Times reported that Erwin Griswold -former Dean of the Harvard Law School, former President of the American Bar Foundation, former Solicitor General of the United States, and one of my own mentors and friends -was asked whether all private lawyers should donate some of their time and talents to serving the poor. "Should carpenters build houses free?" he responded. The question was obviously intended as rhetorical, but in view of Mr. Griswold's stature in the legal profession his analogy deserves serious consideration, and his views deserve a serious response. My comments attempt to provide that response, in the context of some thoughts about the future roles of lawyers.