Document Type
Report
Publication Date
4-2021
Abstract
Legal incubators, also known as law firm incubators, in the United States are designed to help lawyers develop and launch law practices while expanding access to underserved populations. Based on business incubator models, legal incubator programs support the creation of new law firms by providing space, mentoring, and training to licensed lawyers. Most of the law firms produced by these legal incubators are solo or small firms that exist as both for profit businesses and nonprofit entities. Since the first legal incubator appeared in 2007, over 70 self-identified legal incubator programs have emerged around the globe.
In 2016, the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services published a Comprehensive Survey of Lawyer Incubators that provided data on U.S. legal incubator programs. The 2016 Incubator Program Survey Report found that all legal incubator programs were not uniform in structure; however, all of them were focused on training new lawyers to become successful solo and small firm practitioners. It also reported that 80 percent of these programs encouraged lawyers to establish law practices that addressed the needs of low- and moderate-income individuals. That survey revealed an overarching commitment to access to justice by exposing lawyers to flat fee, unbundled legal services, and sliding scale fees models that are commonly employed to reduce the cost of legal services. The respondents of the 2016 survey identified training in practice management, ethics, and substantive law as the most common training areas and reported that about two-thirds of their alumni continued to work in solo or small firms of less than 25 lawyers. The study documented valuable lawyer training and contributions to the community, however, program sustainability was flagged as the most significant challenge to address. Our research team launched a survey to understand the impact of these programs on the incubated attorneys in February 2018. This report documents the responses from that survey which is estimated to have captured more than 10 percent of the population that participated in legal incubator programs spanning eighteen U.S. states. Since there is no central depository for qualitative data identifying the lawyers that participate in these programs, this participant survey provides a fractional overview of the characteristics of the participants, their law practices, and the perceived benefit of these programs to their professional development.
This report of the results of the legal incubator lawyers’ survey serves several purposes, including:
- Confirming the program-reported data.
- Understanding the characteristics and experience of lawyers who participate in legal incubator programs.
- Measuring the short-term impact of legal incubator programs on the career development of lawyer participants.
- Gauging the impact of the legal incubator program as a model to address new lawyer training.
- Giving lawyer incubator participants a baseline for measuring their experience to see how their experience compares to others nationwide.
First Page
1
Last Page
59
Num Pages
59
Publisher
American Bar Association
Place
Chicago, IL
Rights
© 2021 ABA, CALI, and Luz E. Herrera. The material contained herein is protected by copyright and permission has been granted for the individual and private use of ABA and CALI members in a manner that is consistent with the ABA's mission, goals, and activities. All other use is strictly prohibited without prior written authorization from the author. Prohibited use includes but is not limited to the copying, renting, leasing, selling, distributing, transmitting or transfer of all or any portions of the material, or use for any other commercial and/or solicitation purposes of any type, or in connection with any action taken that violates the author's copyright. For information concerning appropriate use of the material, contact copyright@americanbar.org.
Recommended Citation
ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, Luz E. Herrera, Rebecca Sandefur & Briana Morris,
Results of the Legal Incubator Lawyers' Survey,
1
(2021).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/2167
