Trials of Strength: The Reconfiguration of Litigation as a Contested Terrain
Law and Society Review, Vol. 33, pp. 595-636, 1999
42 Pages Posted: 5 Dec 2006 Last revised: 10 May 2019
Abstract
A market for litigation for solicitor-advocates in competition with barristers was introduced by the British government. The take-up by solicitors of these new rights of audience in the higher courts was less than expected. This paper examines four fields of practice - corporate, criminal defence, personal injury, and immigration - and shows how the market cannot be treated as a uniform field and that each field has its own culture that might be receptive or not to fresh ideas that disturb the status quo. Moreover, it shows that Abbott's argument that jurisdictional battles mainly occur at the margins of a profession's remit may need to be modified. The turf war between barristers and solicitors in litigation is taking place within the core activity of legal practice not at the margin.
Keywords: lawyers, law firms, barristers, solicitors, audience, courts, litigation
JEL Classification: J44
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation