wyers themselves chipped away at the controls that had traditionally governed the practice of law in the United States. Winning the right to advertise their services, in turn, led to a right to begin to "stir up" litigation. By 1975, Monroe Freedman, one of the new brand of legal ethicists, stated that lawyers have a "professional responsibility to chase ambulances."9 Another control that fell was the geographic barrier. Prior to the transformation, a citizen right was that he or she could only be sued in the courts and under the law of the place where a contested action occurred. After the transformation, citizens
7L. Epstein and C. K. Rowland, "Debunking the Myth of Interest Group Invincibility in the Courts," American Political Science Review, 85 (March 1991): 205 217; J. Biskupic, "Legal Services Bill Advances As Controversy Fades," CQ Weekly Report, 20 July 1991, 1989; "Cover Your Assets," 30; W. Fikentscher, "The Sense of Justice and the Concept of Cultural Justice," American Behavioral Scientist, 34 (January/February 1991): 314 334.
8J. Resnick, "From 'Cases' to 'Litigation,'" Law and Contemporary Problems, 54 (Summer 1991): 69 72.
9Monroe Freedman, quoted in Walter K. Olson, "The Selling of the Law." American Enterprise, 2 (January/February 1991): 35.could be sued in virtually any venue, and lawyers of today almost routinely shop around for receptive judges.10
Proponents of eliminating the ban on lawyer advertising argued that the change would make legal services more accessible, more effective, and less costly.11 Analogies were drawn between the cases of opticians and druggists to support these claims. Accessibility most certainly has been improved by the change. Questions of effectiveness and cost, however, tend to be decided on the basis of perception. The costs of actual legal services performed have been reduced for individual clients. The costs to society, however, have increased substantially. Lowe...