1. Home
2. Daily News
3. Forget originalism; some conservatives back…

Legal Theory

Forget originalism; some conservatives back ‘common-good constitutionalism,’ its embrace of strong rule

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 19, 2025, 11:37 am CST

Adrian Vermeule, a professor at Harvard Law School, is an “ideological lodestar” among conservatives who are impatient with originalism—the idea that the Constitution’s meaning can be determined by its text and the founders’ intent, according to a story by the New York Times.

Vermeule, dubbed “the godfather of post-originalism” by the New York Times, argued in a March 2020 essay in the Atlantic that originalism has “outlived its utility.”

Vermeule instead embraced an approach that he called “common-good constitutionalism” that goes beyond originalism in incorporating conservative values. Common-good constitutionalism is based on the idea that government helps direct society generally “toward the common good, and that strong rule in the interest of attaining the common good is entirely legitimate,” he wrote.

The main aim of common-good constitutionalism “is certainly not to maximize individual autonomy or to minimize the abuse of power,” Vermeule wrote. Instead the aim is “to ensure that the ruler has the power needed to rule well,” Vermeule wrote.

Critics on the left side and the right side of the political spectrum criticized Vermeule’s essay. On the liberal side, Garrett Epps, then a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, said in an April 2020 article in the Atlantic Vermeule was arguing for “authoritarian extremism.”

Some judges are also expressing interest in Vermeule’s theory, the New York Times reports. Two federal appeals judges attended a 2022 conference on common-good constitutionalism. They are Judge James C. Ho of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans and Judge Paul B. Matey of the 3rd Circuit at Philadelphia.

In addition, some footnotes in federal appellate decisions have referred to Vermeule’s book on common-good constitutionalism, according to the New York Times.

Vice President JD Vance is familiar with Vermeule. Earlier this month, Vance shared a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Vermeule that read: “Judicial interference with legitimate acts of state, especially the internal functioning of a co-equal branch, is a violation of the separation of powers.”

The next day, Vance posted: “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

According to the New York Times, Vance is hinting at “wholesale ultra vires executive-branch impunity,” an idea that “is increasingly part of the Republican mainstream.”

Vermeule didn’t think that Vance went that far when he defended his comments in a Feb. 11 article in the Wall Street Journal.

Vance appeared to be referring to legal doctrines used by courts to determine whether they have jurisdiction to review executive action, Vermeule wrote.

“Judges often invoke the separation of powers to limit their own authority, to put certain classes of executive action off-limits from judicial review, or to shape and constrain the remedies they provide,” Vermeule wrote.

Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. ‘Very strong performance’ reported for law…

Law Firms

‘Very strong performance’ reported for law firms in 2024, with revenue increasing 12.5%

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 29, 2025, 11:59 am CST

Growth in billing rates contributed to a 12.5% increase in law firm revenue in 2024, up from 6% in 2023, according to a year-end survey by Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group.

The 2024 increase was topped only by a 14% increase in revenue reported in 2021.

“The law firm industry experienced very strong performance in 2024,” Wells Fargo reported in a media summary.

More than 130 firms, most of them among the nation’s 200 top-grossing firms, participated in the survey.

Other survey findings for 2024 included:

  • Standard billing rates increased 9.1%, up from an 8.3% increase in 2023.

  • Average profits per equity partner increased 16.9% as firms kept “tight control” over the size of equity partner ranks, which increased by only 0.3%.

  • Demand, measured by billable hours, increased 3.5% for the year, up from 0.7% in 2023.

  • Total expenses increased 9%, up from 6% in 2023. The number likely reflected higher associate bonuses and more year-end expense prepayments.

Firms among the Am Law 50, representing the nation’s 50 highest-grossing firms, did better than the rest. They had growth of 13.9% for revenue, 10% for billing rates, 3.9% for demand and 18.9% for profits per equity partner.

Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.

1. Home
2. Daily News
3. Law firms had ‘very strong performance’ financially…

Law Firms

Law firms had ‘very strong performance’ financially at 9-month point, new report says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 20, 2024, 12:22 pm CST

Law firm revenue in the first nine months of 2024 increased 12.8% from the same period last year, thanks mostly to increases in standard billing rates, according to a new report by Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group.

At this same point last year, revenue had increased 4.6%, according to the report. The year-over-year revenue growth of 12.8% in the first three quarters was eclipsed only by growth rates of 14.4% in 2021.

“For the first nine months of 2024,” the report says, “the law firm industry experienced very strong performance, improving upon the momentum seen at the six-month mark.”

Revenue growth was highest for Am Law 50 firms, which are ranked based on gross revenue. They had year-over-year revenue growth of 14.6% at the nine-month point, compared to growth of 9.3% for firms in the Am Law Second Fifty and 10.1% for firms in the Am Law Second Hundred.

The “primary contributor” to revenue growth is the increase in billing rates, according to the report. Standard billing rates increased 9% from the same period last year. The year-over-year increase was 10% for Am Law 50 firms and 7% for Am Law Second Fifty and Am Law Second Hundred firms.

Net income is also up, Wells Fargo says, although the bank cautions that percentage increases can be “unusually large” in interim reporting because of the seasonality of collections and cash basis reporting. Net income increased 22.2% in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year, while profits per equity partner increased 21.5%.

Law.com spoke with Owen Burman, a senior consultant for the Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group, about the findings.

Financial growth is going so well that firms are “pinching themselves,” Burman said.

The report is based on information from more than 130 firms, including 70 Am Law 100 firms and 35 Am Law Second Hundred firms.