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Chapter Topics
Legal Education
Licensing Requirements
Legal Ethics and Discipline
Bar Associations
The Work of Lawyers
Diversity and Stratification of the Legal
Profession
Access to Legal Services
Legal Education before 1870
• lawyers were scarce in the Colonies
• entry into the profession was open –
trained through self-study, often combined
with an apprenticeship
• start of University based American legal
education at William and Mary (1779)
• legal education connected to philosophy,
political economy and ethics
• proprietary law schools (for-profit)
emerged for practitioners (Litchfield 1784)
The Modern Law School
• Harvard Law School and Dean Christopher
Columbus Langdell changed legal education
• introduced the case method – reading
appellate court opinions
• the case method is now the standard form
of instruction
• night law schools were founded as an
alternative to University education
• in 1900 32 prestigious law schools
founded the Association of American Law
Schools
Law School Admission
• 140,298 law students
• based on Law School Admission Test
(LSAT) and undergraduate performance
• Law School Admission Council (LSAC)
develops and administers the test
• applicants use the Law School Data
Assembly Service (LSDAS) to send their
application materials to schools
• 2004-05, 145,258 LSAT tests compared to
1963-64, 37,598
• women are 50% of enrolled law students,
but only 29% of attorneys
• minorities earn 21% of the degrees
earned with 7% of those going to African
Americans and 7% going to Hispanic
Americans
Law School Curriculum
• early curriculum was 2 years today a
standard curriculum is 3 years
• train students as generalists
• teach students to “think like lawyers”
Curriculum
• distinctive feature is the case method
• casebooks organize appellate court
decisions
• few references to other disciplines
(history, economics, public policy, etc.)
• employs the Socratic method –
professor challenges student to explain
the logic of their thinking
• no correct way of analyzing opinions, it
is the process that counts
Curriculum
• critics of legal education argue:
• method of instruction is confrontational
which does not suit many learning styles
• some argue too focused on knowledge
needed to pass the bar exam
• others say not enough attention to the
actual practice of law
Differences in Law Schools
• 188 American Bar Association (ABA)
approved law schools in 2005
• most are affiliated with a university
• the rest are free standing (proprietary)
• law schools differ in prestige, elite
national law schools, public and private
university schools, and local/night schools
• ranked by U.S. News and World Report
every year but not without controversy—the
LSAC encourages applicants to find the
“best law school for them”
Law School Costs
• 80% of law students rely on loans
• 2001 survey showed median debt of
$84,400
• 2/3 of students report that law school debt
keeps them from considering public sector
jobs
• law school has always been expensive, but
the cost is rising faster than lawyer salaries
Licensing Requirements
• passing the bar exam is required to
practice law
• historically lawyers were admitted to the
bar by courts and judges
• bar associations worked to improve the
quality of the legal profession
• most bar exams include:
• (1) basic areas of law, (2) knowledge of
state law, (3) legal ethics
Licensing Requirements
• the Multistate Bar Examination is used 48
states and offered twice a year:
• 2004, 77,246 tests administered with a
passage rate of 64%
• NY & CA administer the most tests
• other tests include the Multistate
Professional Responsibility Test and the
Multistate Essay Test
• many students take a bar review course
Legal Ethics and Discipline
• are lawyers dishonest, unscrupulous, and
conniving?
• increasingly law schools focus on ethics
• bar associations work to improve the
public image of lawyers
• state high courts establish the standards
of conduct for the legal profession—based
on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional
Conduct
• typically a state bar association
disciplinary committee handles discipline
• common complaints include:
• (1) misuse of client funds, (2)
acceptance of money for services never
rendered, (3) felony conviction
• complaint is filed, investigation performed,
recommendation made
• most complaints are dismissed, very few
result in sanctions
• dissatisfied clients can also file a
malpractice lawsuit
Bar Associations
• created to try and improve the
professional standing of the legal profession
• traditionally elitist and conservative
• State Bar Associations
• 30 states have adopted an integrated
bar, requiring all attorneys to join the
state bar association
• American Bar Association – 600,000
members, attempts to speak for the legal
profession
Bar Association Activities
• attempt to upgrade the quality of the legal
profession
• try to remove dishonest lawyers
• promote the public image (by conducting
assessments of public confidence)
• activities aimed at the unauthorized
practice of law — lawyers traditionally
have a monopoly over legal services
• advocates argue that legal education is
necessary to represent clients
• researchers have found that “experience”
not legal training is the best predictor of
success in court (Kritzer 1998)
• many legal tasks are routine (uncontested
divorces, adoptions, name changes, wills)
• these tasks are being made easier by
computer programs and handbooks
The Work of Lawyers
• many think of lawyers and trials together
but the reality is that most lawyers do not
spend their time in court
• England draws a formal distinction
between:
• Solicitors – office attorneys who
advise clients but argue only minor
cases,
• Barristers – litigators who argue case
in major trial courts
The Work of Lawyers
• Litigating – presenting cases before judges
or juries
• trial attorneys must organize a case
and the facts for presentation to the
judge or jury
• only a small number of attorneys are
full-time litigators
• Representing – helping clients with
securing a license, dealing with
administrative regulations, requesting
variances, etc.
The Work of Lawyers
• Negotiating – most lawsuits are settled
through negotiation. Lawyers work to settle
a dispute in the most favorable way for their
client. Negotiations in criminal court are
frequently referred to as plea bargaining.
• Drafting Documents – lawyers spend a
great deal of time writing documents. A
properly drafted document can help a client
avoid a lawsuit in the future. Documents
are required at every stage of a lawsuit.
The Work of Lawyers
• Counseling Clients – lawyers advise clients
about the dictates of the law. They are
expected to provide sound, dispassionate
advice about the law.
• this role sometimes creates tension
between the lawyer and client. Lawyers
must sometimes give advice that the
client would rather not hear—for
example, the evidence will likely lead to a
conviction or your not going to be able to
get that much money in a settlement.
The Work of Lawyers
• Cause Lawyering – involves the
mobilization of the law combined with
political calculations.
• emerged in the 1960s with civil rights
and consumer safety initiatives
• includes both the political left and right
Where Lawyers Work
• Private Practice – nearly 75% of lawyers
work in private practice
• number of solo practitioners is declining
• economies of scale make working in a
firm—an association of lawyers—more
and more desirable
• Business – many business hire lawyers
• house counsel – employed by the
business as salaried employees
• outside counsel – a lawyer or firm hired
by the business but not a employee
• Government – nearly 10% of the nations
lawyers work for government.
• typically we think of government
lawyers prosecuting criminals
• but many other lawyers are employed
by the federal, state and local
government
• Law Clerks – provide legal research and
writing for judges. Judicial clerkships are
highly prized by law students and seen as
prestigious by future employers.
Diversity and Stratification of the
Legal Profession
• there are many differences among lawyers
and law firms
• Heinz and Lauman and Nelson found in a
Chicago study:
• lawyers range from general to specific in their
practice with less than 25% considering
themselves specialists
• lawyers consistently represent either plaintiffs
or defendants
• lawyers tend to represent either large
corporations or individuals
Diversity and Stratification of the
Legal Profession
• they concluded that lawyers are either part
of the
• corporate sector—representing large
corporations, regulatory agencies, or
governmental bodies, or
• personal client sector attorneys—representing
individuals
• corporate sector lawyering has been
growing faster than the private client sector
Large Law Firms
• Often referred to as Wall Street Lawyers
• Largest is Chicago’s Baker & McKenzie, 3,214
• small number of “large law firms” but they have a
great deal of influence
• represent mostly corporate clients
• offer coordinated, highly specialized legal services
• lawyers are
• associates—recent law school graduates who
provide legal assistance
• partners—hold permanent positions and
contribute to firm management
Large Law Firms
• firm lawyers are sometimes described as: finders
(finding new clients), minders (managing the firm),
and grinders (doing legal research and work)
• participate in bar association leadership
• expanded rapidly in the 1980s, but number of
super large firms has been declining
Solo Practitioners
• individual attorneys
• represent one-shotters—individuals who rarely
make legal claims
• have modest incomes and focus mostly on criminal,
personal injury, divorce, real estate, etc.
Lawyer Employment and Salaries
• geography is important, in 2003 43% of
all new lawyer jobs were in 20 cities!
• fastest growth in large states, NY, CA, TX
• 2004 median salary $94,930
• 25% make less than $64,620
• 2004 median starting salaries for lawyers
in the 10 cities with the largest number of
jobs, $116,500 private practice, $64,400
business, $47,234
Legal Services
• there are many lawyers in the U.S. (>1M)
but individual citizens still report difficulty
obtaining legal services, why?
• many lawyers work for business
• lawyers can be expensive
• but they are often necessary
• in criminal prosecutions, legal
representation is a right (Gideon v.
Wainwright 1963)
Legal Services
• legal services are provided—if you cannot
afford them. There are two systems:
• assigned counsel – lawyers are
assigned cases by a judge on case by
case basis and paid hourly for their work
• often young and inexperienced
lawyers
• used by half of the counties in the
U.S.
Legal Services
• public defender—salaried lawyers working
for the state or local jurisdiction who are
assigned cases by an administrative
professional
• intended to bring professionalism to
criminal representation of the poor
• used frequently in urban areas
• proponents argue that lawyers can
focus on the cases because they are
salaried, critics charge that because they
receive a salary they will not be as
passionate advocates
Civil Representation for the Poor
• in civil matters, free legal representation is
a privilege, not a right
• mostly offered by a legal clinic, the
Legal Services Program or on a
contingency fee basis
• Contingency Fee—the lawyers agrees to
be paid only if the case is won
• very controversial, but
• increase the availability of lawyers to
the poor
Civil Representation for the Poor
• distinctive feature of U.S. law
• opponents charge that (1) unfair to
clients because winning lawyers take a
large portion of the settlement, (2)
lawyers make too much for their time
spent, (3) the chance of winning big
causes reckless behavior by the
attorneys.
• proponents counter that (1) lawyers
that use the contingency fee do not
benefit all that much, (2) they turn away
plenty of cases, (3) may not cause higher
verdicts
Civil Representation for the Poor
• Advertising and Legal Clinics
• most advertising is modest, but
accident victims often do receive letters
from attorneys. States may place
restrictions on advertising
• legal clinics may be run by community
based organizations or law schools. They
often specialize in uncomplicated
matters: uncontested divorce, wills,
bankruptcy, etc.
• the number of clinics has been
declining
Civil Representation for the Poor
• Legal Services Program—created in 1965
by President Lyndon Johnson to offer civil
legal services to the poor
• precursors were small, largely urban
organizations trying to provide
professional legal services
• the LSP created neighborhood offices,
government funded, independent,
advocated for the poor
• replaced by the Legal Services
Corporation in 1974
Civil Representation for the Poor
• Legal Services Corporation – is a private,
nonprofit corporation established by
Congress in 1974
• overseen by an 11 person committee
appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Senate
• FY 2005 budget, $330.8M
• provides aid to >1M annually
• subject of partisan debates in
Congress, but support is bi-partisan and
budgets have been steady
Conclusion
• legal representation is very important
• legal education is rigorous
• lawyers belong to bar associations and
attempt to police themselves for ethical
violations
• the legal profession is diverse
• legal services for indigents in criminal
matters is a right, but for civil matters it is a
privilege