I am also an attorney and was stunned when the Ribbon was first introduced and the ability to customize toolbars on the sides and bottom of the screen were taken away. It is tough adjustment for someone used to the menu system. Nevertheless, its power is easily accessible through keyboard shortcuts and the QAT.

As Paul said, this change was made at the request of the big purchasers who found the old Word too easy to customize.

On the other hand, once you learn to do XML customization, the sky is the limit. See my responses in this thread for an example.