What’s Money Got to Do with It?: Public Interest Lawyering and Profit

53 Pages Posted: 23 Feb 2015

See all articles by Kathryn A. Sabbeth

Kathryn A. Sabbeth

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - School of Law

Date Written: July 1, 2014

Abstract

Definitions of public interest lawyering influence financial support, regulation of lawyers, and professional identity. This Article examines three contexts in which legal institutions have operationalized the concept of public interest lawyering: tax exemptions, exceptions to solicitation prohibitions, and fee-shifting statutes. The Article critiques the common conception of public interest lawyering as work provided by non-profit organizations or through volunteer activities outside the mainstream market for legal services. It argues that interpreting public interest lawyering as a market exception not only is incomplete but also threatens the viability of important work.

Keywords: public interest lawyering, cause lawyering, access to justice, legal ethics, professional responsibility, court systems, attorneys' fees

JEL Classification: D31, D43, D45, D46, D53, H20, H23, K34, K41, L11, L31

Suggested Citation

Sabbeth, Kathryn Anne, What’s Money Got to Do with It?: Public Interest Lawyering and Profit (July 1, 2014). Denver University Law Review, Vol. 91, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2568200

Kathryn Anne Sabbeth (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - School of Law ( email )

102 Ridge Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.unc.edu/faculty/directory/sabbethkathryna/

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