Lawyer Nation: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Legal Profession by Ray Brescia

Ray Brescia, Associate Dean for Research and Intellectual Life and the Hon. Harold R Tyler Chair in Law and Technology at Albany Law School, discusses his new book, Lawyer Nation: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Legal Profession. The American legal profession faces significant challenges: the changing nature of work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; calls for greater racial and gender justice; threats to democracy; the inaccessibility of legal services for the majority of Americans; the risk of obsolescence owing to the emergence of new technologies; and the disaffection many lawyers feel toward their work. At this critical moment in the legal profession’s—and the nation’s—history, Brescia’s book explores the critical role that American lawyers have played since the nation’s founding in advancing the rule of law and what the future holds for the profession in light of the challenges it faces at present. According to Kirkus Reviews, the book “makes a convincing case that the legal profession must take massive strides toward reform now.” And describes it as a “powerful examination of the U.S. legal field."NYU Law School’s Melissa Murray calls Lawyer Nation "essential reading for lawyers and those who believe in the rule of law."