In the case of Mitchell, Secretary of Labor v. Lublin, McGaughy & Associates et al., 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a law firm's legal research and opinion services for clients constituted "production" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires employers to pay overtime wages to employees who work more than forty hours per week in any business engaged in commerce or production of goods for commerce. The law firm argued that its activities did not constitute "production," thus it should be exempt from paying overtime wages. However, the court disagreed and ruled against them stating that their services were indeed part of interstate commerce as they significantly affected businesses involved in such trade by providing necessary legal advice and opinions on commercial matters. Therefore, according to this ruling, even non-manufacturing entities like law firms could fall within the purview of FLSA if their operations have substantial impact on interstate commerce.

In the dissenting opinion for Mitchell, Secretary of Labor v. Lublin, McGaughy & Associates et al., Justice Frankfurter argued that the majority's interpretation of "produced" in the Fair Labor Standards Act was too broad and inconsistent with Congressional intent. He contended that Congress intended to regulate only those activities directly involved in physical or material production, not all activities related to commerce. In his view, an architectural firm designing a building did not produce goods for commerce simply because its designs were used by others who actually constructed buildings; rather it provided services which are distinct from production. Thus he disagreed with the majority’s decision that architects could be subject to wage and hour regulations under FLSA merely because their work might indirectly affect interstate commerce.