It would be easy to lament that our profession is no longer minting lawyers like Bob Fiske: giant of the bar; counselor to the world’s biggest clients; dedicated leader of bar associations; someone who has repeatedly left his lucrative career to serve in important positions in government; universally recognized for integrity, honesty, and humility.
And, at first blush, it might indeed appear that Bob is a lawyer from a bygone era. Today’s focus on profits per partner, billable hours, and obsessive talk about insourcing, outsourcing, disaggregation and alternative fee structures, have caused many to portray our legal community as one where lawyers have neither the time nor the interest to pursue public service, service to the profession, or anything other than the hunt for clients and increasingly elusive profits.
