And kingpins such as Staples Center owner Ed Roski raise money for legal services. Fund-raising dinners that yielded tens of thousands of dollars in the 1980s now result in millions. Others concede that, after a long day of screwing some hapless adversary in court, doing a little good makes it easier to go home to the kids. For many, that institutional commitment is what draws people to law practice in the first place. However, both Feuer and April agreed that the burden should not fall squarely on the legal community's shoulders.
Corporate involvement is key, they said, particularly in such a robust economy.
None of this is lost on Lash or Grunfeld. Executives from Times Mirror Co., Walt Disney Corp. and ARCO, among others, signed the Equal Access to Justice letter. Nor have their methods in engaging lawyers remained static. They relate to that sense of organization and structure. Reflecting that sense of pre-eminence associated with Public Counsel and Bet Tzedek, the pool of talent entering the public sector has never been higher.