Divorce Lawyers at Work: Varieties of Professionalism in PracticeHow do lawyers think about and make the important decisions that constitute the day-to-day practice of law? This book explores that question through an extensive empirical study of lawyers practicing divorce law in New England. The authors emphasize the importance of "collegial control" in shaping lawyers' decisions and identify a variety of "communities of practice" that serve as key agents of that control. Offering a new understanding of the nature of lawyers' work in divorce law as well as a new perspective on legal professionalism, this book is required reading for scholars, students, and practitioners. |
Contents
1 Debating Professionalism and Control over Lawyers Work | 3 |
2 The Many Faces of Professionalism in Divorce Practice | 16 |
3 Communities of Practice | 41 |
4 The Boundaries of Expertise | 64 |
5 Maintaining Control over Clients | 87 |
6 The Meaning of Advocacy | 110 |
7 Serving Clients while Protecting the Bottom Line | 133 |
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Common terms and phrases
adversarial adversary system advocates American Bar Association Andrea Wright behavior bills chapter child support clientele codes collegial control communities of practice community of divorce context counsel court custody decisions define demands divorce attorneys divorce clients divorce law practice divorce lawyers divorce practice divorce specialists emotional Ethics example expectations expertise family law fees formal gender George Elder going Hampshire Hampshire attorneys Henry Genrus important issues judge judgments law firms Law Review lawyers we interviewed legal practice legal profession legal professionalism listening litigation Maine marital means mediation Model Rules negotiation organization parties percent prac pro se problems profes professional conduct professional identities professional responsibility professional roles professionalism in practice reasonable lawyer reflect relationship reported represent settlement shape shared sional skills social sole practitioners specialized in divorce Stanford Law Review tice understand unreasonable vorce women lawyers yers