OK, this is probably exceptionally crass, but I'm going to say it anyway: If there is any good coming from the current economic turmoil it is the lessening demand for lawyers.

The NY Times reports that two major San Francisco law firms "have collapsed outright" and that "many others, including Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and Katten Muchin Rosenman, two Chicago firms ranked among the nation’s hundred most profitable by American Lawyer magazine, and the international giant Clifford Chance have jettisoned dozens of associates."

Occasionally being around high-dollar lawyers at very prestigious firms, it is remarkable to learn how much money American businesses spend on retainers, legal fees, and expense reimbursement. It's not easy, after all, to pay hundreds of people hundreds of thousands of dollars each and pay for Class-A office space.

Now this is not to say those firms don't earn their money. Most of them surely do, and some of the things I've seen good lawyers be able to get done were truly remarkable. Furthermore, many of them truly are experts in areas which may seem extremely "niche" to the average person but which is absolutely invaluable if you're someone in that niche.

I don't want to think of lawyers as parasites, but I also can't help it much of the time. There are some great ones who do some great things, either for paying clients or in the public interest (such as the Institute for Justice, one of my favorite organizations). But there are also the ads you see on TV like "call 1-866-BAD-DRUG" and other such "ambulance chasers" who give the whole business a bad name.

And of course, there's John Edwards, the poster boy for Shakepeare's semi-serious line "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."

While I'm glad we need fewer of them, and I hope some will go into other more productive professions, I don't actually want to kill them. After all, if I did, someone would probably sue me and then I might need one.