Adam, your points are well taken. But to what degree can we exlcude human nature from the calculation? Sure its easy to say size does not matter, its how collaborative you are, but I think the question we should be asking in the abstract is: can lawyers ever really collaborate to the point where they work together in a small/medium/large setting and still enjoy all of the benefits in terms of what Eben wants us to strive for? Eben made if very clear that Partners have to watch whose toes they step on and which clients they can or cannot take etc. Maybe I am a little too Hobbesian, but I believe that greed and money can eventually ruin even the most collaborative partnership.

-- AdamGold? - 13 Apr 2008

Jared, I am not sure you are right about "no lawyer has a monopoly over a client's problem." I find it hard to believe that a, say, big bio tech company picks a random law firm's name out of a hat to see who they want to handle their patent issues. I have a hunch that there is a select few IP firms in the world that would be in the running for the job, and more importantly for the context you raise, that would be able to handle such a job.

Big firms with certain specialties have logistical power and experience that smaller firms cannot compete with (at least very easily). My point regarding the anti commons idea is not to hypothesize how law firms relate to patents, but how the breaking up of legal knowledge and expertise can lead to the under utilization of certain economic and social capital in society.

thanks for commenting guys, I am interested to hear what you have to say (and how you can tear my argument apart)

-- AdamGold? - 13 Apr 2008