Law and Society Legal Profession Sogang University Law School

Images and Perceptions of Lawyers Reasons for the negative image: in the nature of the work lawyers do –Involvement in heated disputes –“making things worse” –Defense of unsavory clients –Use of legal stratagems –“Ambulance Chasing” –Work on behalf of the “Haves” Positive image –Lawyer as hero

Legal profession in English Before 18 th century –Apprentice By the end of 18 th century –Professional English bar Formal education License Inns of court  Market control dynamic(Abel)

Origin and Development of American legal profession 18 century, –banned lawyering for money –Disbelief in lawyers –Disliked law and lawyers –Lawyers as a “necessary evil”

Origin and Development of American legal profession Professionalization of the American Bar –Apprenticeship model(-19c) Poorly trained, low fee –1870, New York City bar –1878 American Bar Association(ABA) –Law school: degree + bar exam –Market control training(quality), number(fee) –ABA as a “club for white male” Cf. Women, Catholic, Jews, people of color Accidental admission of 3 blacks Canon of Professional Ethics(1908)

The U.S. Legal Profession Today Growth and demographics of the legal profession : 24,000 lawyers 1900: 109,000 lawyers

(2007)

The U.S. Legal Profession Today Diversity of Lawyers(2006) –Women: 30.3% of lawyers –African American: 4.2% of lawyers 12-13% of population –Latino: 3.4% of Lawyers 12-13% of population

Stratification and Social organization of the Bar Income(2006) –Median: $102,470 3 times higher than the over all population 1/4 more than $145,400 1/4 less than $69,910

Stratification and Social organization of the Bar Type of work

Stratification and Social organization of the Bar Types of setting

Stratification and Social organization of the Bar Divide between lawyers –Corporate attorneys Law firm, In-house counsel $1m. Elite national law schools Office works complex –Personal service attorneys Criminal cases, divorces, real estate etc. Courtroom works Less complex, routine Generalists vs. specialists traditional attorneys vs. enterpreneurial attorneys

Stratification and Social organization of the Bar Law firms –18% of lawyers works in firms with more than 50 attorneys. –Less unified and coherent than in 1970s. Gender, racial, religious diversity Specialization Growth of bar –International “branching out”

Stratification and Social organization of the Bar Cause lawyering –Use law to improve society –Civil rights, environment, gay, women –Clarence Darrow Labor law, labor leaders Monkey trial –ACLU(1920); National Lawyers Guild(1937) – s Civil rights activist, Vietnam anti-war activists, new leftist, black power advocates, environment, gay, women Risking practice and safety C.V. King

Women in the law 8%(1980), 30%(2006) of lawyers

Women in the law Glass ceiling –Upper echelon –Reasons Choice? : Liberal, family oriented, leave large firms Discrimination? : work environment, work assignment, recruitment and advancement, long workdays, child care responsibility –Some inequality persists

Legal ethics and Corruption 2% of unethical attorney investigated Less than 0.2% penalized Few client complaint Self-regulation, lax and ineffective –More to legitimate than to regulate

Satisfaction with legal careers 1)Generally highly satisfied as other jobs 2)No difference between man and women, between white and colored Level of responsibility, recognition of their work, chances of advancement Depression or despondency about their lives 3)Lawyer with higher income are more satisfied Lawyer in large law firm are less satisfied the in small law firm or solo practice Lawyer working in government or in public interest are more satisfied than in private practice Private practice in large firm is the least satisfied. 4)Graduate of elite law school is less satisfied with entering law school.

Law School and Legal education Growth of law school –1784, first law school, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Closed in 1833 –1829, law school in Harvard University –15 law schools(1850), 31(1860), 51(1880), 61(1890), 102(1900) –900 students(1850), 1600(1870), 7600(1890) –One or two years of course –1870, C. Langell assume deanship at Harvard College degree, 3 years, full-time professors, sequence of course and final exam. Case study method/Socratic method

Law School and Legal education Growth of law school –Two-tier system of law schools Law schools in universities Night law schools  hierarchy, exclusion –1879, 1/3 states required any formal legal studies; 1904, 2/3 ; 1924, more than 80%. –1935, 9 states required degree from accredited law school; 1984, 48 states –1949, 62% lawyers with law degree; 1970, 93%

Law School and Legal education Growth of law students Reason of Increase 1)Baby boom 2)End of racial segregation and cause lawyering 3)Lucrative profession 4)women

Law School and Legal education Criticism –Traditional view of law: anti social science No teaching on implication of what taught. –Socialize students to be conservative To the need of corporation and established interests “education of capitalist lawyer”(Rockwell) –Brutal for student, esp. women Humiliating students

Law School and Legal education Defense –Logical, value-free manner but inevitable –Tough but inevitable to think like lawyer –Experience of Rinzler(263) Conclusively, –Social scientific understanding is largely lacking in the law school curriculum today

Presentation Stratification of the Bar(lawyers)

Presentation Satisfaction with legal career