Over the past several decades, the number of lawyers in large cities has doubled, women have entered the bar at an unprecedented rate, and the scale of firms has greatly expanded. This immense growth has transformed the nature and social structure of the legal profession. In the most comprehensive analysis of the urban bar to date,Urban Lawyerspresents a compelling portrait of how these changes continue to shape the field of law today.
Drawing on extensive interviews with Chicago lawyers, the authors demonstrate how developments in the profession have affected virtually every aspect of the work and careers of urban lawyers-their relationships with clients, job tenure and satisfaction, income, social and political values, networks of professional connections, and patterns of participation in the broader community. Yet despite the dramatic changes, much remains the same. Stratification of income and power based on gender, race, and religious background, for instance, still maintains inequality within the bar.
The authors ofUrban Lawyersconclude that organizational priorities will likely determine the future direction of the legal profession. And with this landmark study as their guide, readers will be able to make their own informed predictions.
Author(s): John P. Heinz; Robert L. Nelson; Rebecca L. Sandefur; Edward O. Laumann
Edition: Paperback
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 352
Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
Part I The Professions of the Bar
Chapter 1 Chicago Lawyers Revisited
Prior Research
The Data
The Issues
Chapter 2 The Changing Character of Lawyers’ Work
with Ethan Michelson
The 1975 "Two-Hemispheres" Finding: Methodological Issues
1995 Patterns of Co-practice
Specialization by Field
Client Differentiation by Field
Allocation of Time in 1975 and 1995
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Integration and Separation
Integrative Mechanisms
Bar Associations
Law School Stratification
Ethnoreligious Differences
Race, Gender, and Family Background
Practice Setting
Structure and Opportunity
Part II The Hierarchies of the Bar
Chapter 4 Prestige
Three Theories of Honor
Prestige
Determinants of Prestige
Core Economic Values, or Professional Purity
Participation in Prestigious Work
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Organizations
The Economic Dominance of Large Law Firms
Organization-Linked Advantage
A Typology of Law Firms
Democracy and Participation
Professional Autonomy
Determinants of Compensation
Changing Management Policies
Organizing Principles
Hours Worked
Task Structure
Change and Continuity
Chapter 6 Careers
with Kathleen E. Hull
Work History and Careers
Career Stability
The Golden Age and Its Fading
Paths to Eminence in the Profession
Lawyers Not Practicing
Conclusion
Chapter 7 Income and Income Inequality
Structural Sources of Inequality
Nonpracticing Lawyers
Individual-Level Correlates of Income
Equal Justice
Part III Lawyers’ Lives
Chapter 8 Divided Opinions
with Monique R. Payne
The Chicago Data
Differences among Types of Lawyers
Adaptation to Client Values?
Social Values
Conclusion
Chapter 9 Community Roles
with Paul S. Schnorr
The Chicago Data
Overall Participation
Correlates of Overall Participation
Who Participates Where?
Correlates of Participation by Organization Type
Leaders
Conclusion
Appendix: Period, Age, and Cohort Effects
Chapter 10 Connections within the Bar
The 1975 Networks
The 1995 Networks
The Structure of the Networks
Ethnoreligious and Political Divisions
Conclusion
Appendix: Notables’ Biographies (as of 199495)
Chapter 11 A Satisfying Profession?
with Kathleen E. Hull and Ava A. Harter
Research on Job Satisfaction
The Chicago Findings
Happy Hour at the Bar?
Part IV Transformation
Chapter 12 The Processes of Change
Autonomy and Influence
The Decline of Professional Dominance
Demand
Reasons for Growth
Changes in Firm Structure and Management
Lawyer-Client Relationships
Organizational Boundaries
Business Methods
Conclusion
Notes
References
