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A noble profession is facing its defining moment. From law schools to the prestigious firms that represent the pinnacle of a legal career, a crisis is unfolding. News headlines tell part of the storythe growing oversupply of new lawyers, widespread career dissatisfaction, and spectacular implosions of pre-eminent law firms. Yet eager hordes of bright young people continue to step over each other as they seek jobs with high rates of depression, life-consuming hours, and little assurance of financial stability. The Great Recession has only worsened these trends, but correction is possible and, now, imperative. In The Lawyer Bubble, Steven J. Harper reveals how a culture of short-term thinking has blinded some of the nations finest minds to the long-run implications of their actions.



About the Author

Steven J. Harper

Steven J. Harper is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University and a contributing editor to "The American Lawyer." His latest book is "The Lawyer Bubble - A Profession in Crisis" (Basic Books/Perseus, March 2016 trade paperback with new AFTERWORD; original hardcover publication April 2013) .

In 2010, he published his first novel, "The Partnership" -- a legal thriller. His award-winning blog is "The Belly of the Beast" (www.thebellyofthebeast.wordpress.com) , which the editors of the ABA Law Blawg chose as one of the best blogs of 2010.

In addition to "The Lawyer Bubble," he has written two other non-fiction books. "Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story" (Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007) received the Chicago Tribune's award as one of "BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR" and won honors at the LONDON, NEW YORK, HOLLYWOOD, and NEW ENGLAND BOOK FESTIVALS. It's the true-crime story of his father's two-year tangle with Jimmy Hoffa from 1959 to 1961.

"Straddling Worlds: The Jewish-American Journey of Professor Richard W. Leopold" (Northwestern University Press, 2008) , chronicles the life of a mentor who was a leading educator and historian. Harper wrote the book while spending every Sunday morning with Leopold during the final two years of his former professor's ninety-four-year life.

Harper is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and retired after 30 years at a large international law firm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which he joined upon graduation from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude) . He received B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa and with distinction) and M.A. degrees in economics through a combined program at Northwestern University.



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