‘I just drifted into it’: constraints faced by publicly funded family lawyers

Melville, Angela; Laing, Karen

doi:10.1080/09695950802015864

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, feminist perspectives have been used to account for the persistence of inequalities (e.g. Menkel-Meadow, 1989;Sommerlad, 1994;Thornton, 1996;Albisetti, 2000;Epstein, 2000;Hunter, 2002;Bogoch, 2003;Melville & Laing, 2007). Feminist authors have observed that while women have increasingly entered the profession, numerical equality does not mean that women's experiences are equal.…”

Section: Accounting For Change and Persistence Of Inequalities: Theormentioning

confidence: 98%

“…14 The specialisations identified by female advocates are relatively lowly paid and less prestigious compared to commercial law (Heinz et al, 1998;Mossman, 2006). They also reflect types of legal work perceived to be a natural extension of women's supposedly innate nurturing traits rather than requiring any acquired skills (Sommerlad & Sanderson, 1998;Melville & Laing, 2007).…”

Section: "The Dyke Was Breached": Women In the Faculty Of Advocatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The more things change, the more they stay the same: explaining stratification within the Faculty of Advocates, Scotland

Melville

Stephen

2011

International Journal of the Legal Profession

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the 1970s the legal profession has become increasingly diversified. However, the inclusion of traditionally excluded social groups has not eradicated inequalities. This paper attempts to explain the contradiction between increasing diversification and persistence of inequalities by examining changes in the structure of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland. We observe significant changes over the last 40 years, especially the increasing numbers of women entering the Faculty. Yet, women still face discrimination, and their success has largely been at the expense of working-class aspirants. We argue that existing theoretical perspectives, namely feminism and the perspectives of Bourdieu, as well as new insights offered by Beck, are insufficient to account for stratification within the legal profession. We call for a new theoretical perspective which accounts for both social change and persistence of inequalities, and suggest that such an approach is best offered by a feminist reworking of Bourdieu.

show abstract

Section: Accounting For Change and Persistence Of Inequalities: Theormentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: "The Dyke Was Breached": Women In the Faculty Of Advocatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The more things change, the more they stay the same: explaining stratification within the Faculty of Advocates, Scotland

Melville

Stephen

2011

International Journal of the Legal Profession

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Despite efforts to separate emotion from cognition, and regardless of whether or how it is acknowledged or responded to, empathy does play a role in everyday legal practice (Westaby, 2014;Westaby, 2010;Melville and Laing, 2007). Lawyers are humans and therefore inevitably have both emotional and cognitive responses to issues, even if they seek to suppress or disregard them (Duffy, 2010;Gerdy, 2008).…”

Section: Incorporating Empathy Into Legal Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been an exponential growth of the corporate sector (Sommerlad, 2007). At the same time, legal aid has been drastically cut as a result of a move away from collective welfare provision (Melville and Laing, 2007;Sommerlad, 2007). Hence law firms are seeking to reinvent themselves to ensure their survival in a competitive, business-focused environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empathy: an essential element of legal practice or ‘never the twain shall meet’?

Westaby

Jones

2017

International Journal of the Legal Profession

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In a climate where the work of the legal profession is changing and evolving rapidly, this article considers the potential for empathy to be incorporated as an essential element of legal practice. This challenges the conceptions of legal practice held by many legal professionals and law students but draws on increasing scientific evidence demonstrating the interaction between cognition and affect and reflects the emotional realities of life in practice. This article will consider the different definitions of empathy and argue that it is necessary for it to be conceptualised in a way which draws upon both cognitive and affective elements. When empathy is interpreted in this way it can provide both a more effective form of practice and a deeper appreciation of ethics and values. This article will argue that to incorporate empathy in this way requires a richer, more nuanced consideration of the benefits and challenges involved in its use. However, embedding it throughout legal education, training and legal practice would more than reward such a careful evaluation of its role

show abstract

“…Research suggests, however, that the work of family lawyers is multifaceted, and involves considerably more than the provision of legal advice. Family lawyers also provide practical advice and emotional support to their clients, help their clients build skills in order for them to resolve future problems independently, and boost their clients’ self-confidence (Davis et al ., 1994, p. 69; Eekelaar, Maclean and Beinart, 2000; Griffiths, 1986; Hunter et al ., 2000, p. 315; Ingleby, 1992; Mather, 2001; Mather, Maiman and McEwen, 1995; Melville and Laing, 2007; Sarat and Felinster, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closing the gate: family lawyers as gatekeepers to a holistic service

Melville

Laing²

2010

International Journal of Law in Context

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In 2001, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) introduced a new pilot, the Family Advice and Information Network (FAInS), which recognised that family law clients typically face a cluster of legal and non-legal issues. Family lawyers involved in FAInS were encouraged to address a client’s legal problems, and then refer the client to other services for assistance with non-legal issues. In this way, family law clients were to be offered a holistic service, with the lawyer acting as a ‘case manager’ who helped match services to their client’s individual needs. This article presents data drawn from an evaluation of FAInS, and shows that lawyers did not regularly refer their clients to other services, with referrals largely being limited to mediation. We conclude that family lawyers are not necessarily the most appropriate gatekeepers, and propose a number of alternatives for providing a multi-agency approach to resolving family law issues.

show abstract

‘I just drifted into it’: constraints faced by publicly funded family lawyers

Cited by 8 publications

References 33 publications

The more things change, the more they stay the same: explaining stratification within the Faculty of Advocates, Scotland

The more things change, the more they stay the same: explaining stratification within the Faculty of Advocates, Scotland

Empathy: an essential element of legal practice or ‘never the twain shall meet’?

Closing the gate: family lawyers as gatekeepers to a holistic service

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About