Bloomberg reported last year that lawyers had become a minority in the U.S. Senate for the first time ever. Following data from the Vital Statistics on Congress, first published in 1953, the article cited work by Stanford’s Adam Bonica, which found that the Senate had included a lawyer majority since 1789.
Tying the decrease in the number of lawyers to a decline in public trust in government, the author of this opinion article noted that lawyers have “by far the most evenly distributed political leanings” and offered for discussion the idea that American politics could benefit from more lawyers in office.
One consequence of the COVID-19 crisis may be a move in this direction. As the situation leads to a reexamination of various legal frameworks, attorneys would be wise to consider how their expertise and experience might contribute most through political rather than private channels. Local government is a great starting point, and lawyers are better positioned than most to find the funding.
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