The Evils of "Elasticity”: Professionalism and the Part-Time Paradox

I have just posted under my name an article recently published as part of the Fordham Urban Law Journal Symposium on Professional Challenges in Large-Firm Practice, The Evils of “Elasticity”: Reflections on the Rhetoric of Professionalism and the Part-Time Paradox in Large Firm Practice.  The title comes from a wonderful text in C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength (the third novel in his “space trilogy”) in which he described a young sociologist’s slide into the evil “National Institute of Coordinated Experiments” (N.I.C.E) which is plotting to submit the entire world to a totalitarian regime.  I hope I don’t overstretch the analogy, but I couldn’t resist seeing the text as a helpful vehicle to explore the deep seated cultural tensions that obstruct open, creative and productive conversations about work-life balance in large law firms.  The essay submits that lurking beneath some of the resistance to descriptions of law as a business and some of the rhetoric of loyal dedication to client service, is the evil of “elasticity,” in which the all-consuming demands of the workplace gradually corrode hope for a more harmonious and balanced life.  Based on that text, the analysis then flags the dark side of seemingly positive and constructive concepts in professional rhetoric such as “calling” or “vocation,” “commitment,” and “service.”  Unlike most of my other work, religion is something of a subtext in this piece, appearing as one of many possible anchors and guides for one’s professional life.  Thanks to many of you for your helpful comments on the draft, and especially to Mark for having me down to Villanova last fall to discuss the draft with his faculty.  Amy