LLB197 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Productivity Commission, Pro Bono, Family Law
Week 13 – Legal Culture and Future Directions
Chapter 4
What is culture? What is legal culture?
• Practices, values, beliefs which establish patterns of behaviour of a group of people
• Entrants into the legal profession socialized through education and vocational
experience as to what is meant by proper behaviour and appropriate standards and
values
• Legal ultue idetified fo legalese laguage, odes of addess, dess odes,
rituals, ways of work, interpersonal relationships, codes of ethics, place in wider
economic framework
• Social values and background influences
• Evolutionary – adapts to changing social and ethnic contexts and influences over a
period of time
• Cultural change:
- 1901-1972 → White Australia Policy
- 1970s → small law firms due to partnerships law → personal relationships with
clients
- last quarter of 20th century → state-based professions moved to become a
national profession in a national legal services market , corporate model law
firms
- 2012 → large law firms merged to become global
Negative:
• climbing the ladder
• anything to bill client
Social and Ethnic profile of Australian lawyers
• Mid-20th century → white, ale, iddle-class, Anglo-Sao
• Australian Bureau of Statistis ad law assoiatios dot ake eods o soial o
ethnic profiles
• Up to general conclusions
• Effects post World War II:
- Australia went from mainly British origin to a multicultural society
- Expansion of tertiary education in 1960s and 1970s → massive injection of funds
from Commonwealth Government
- 1974 → Whitlam Government removed fees
- 1947 → government encouraged immigration from war-torn Europe and those
escaping communism
- Asian immigration law until removal of White Australia Policy
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Analysis of backgrounds of law students
- Early 1980s → elite private schools, parent or relative in legal profession, affluent
background
- 1987 Pearce Report → wealthy status, private schools, high income earning
parents, 85% had English as first language, 7% of lawyer graduates had lawyer
parent, 45% of graduates fathers & 16% of mothers had other job in professional
industry
- most recent survey of 1997 graduates → (text pg 75) 68% Anglo/Celtic grouping,
17% other European, 11% Asian (increased by 4% since 1991)
• globalisation
• Law Society 2004 → 23.5% of members born overseas, 2014 increased to 28%
• Intergenerational differences
Gender participation in legal practice
• Woe weet aditted to patie util eal th century (1918 in NSW)
• Didt lead to geater numbers studying & practising until 1960s & 70s → expansion
of higher education and equity policies
• Women now exceed the number of men studying → 53% of first year law students
woe i ‘opes 99 stud
• Since 2011, female solicitors increased by 19.3%, males increased by 5.4%
• 2014 → women 48.5% of profession
• Table of expansion on textbook pg 79
• More pgs 78-84
Long hours, workplace conditions and lifestyle
• ‘euied to eet illale hous eah da/week
• Significant number of lawyers dissatisfied with rewards and style of legal practice
• Unhappier than any other professionals
• Senior associates and partners the most unhappy
• Lacking meaning of life
• Queensland lawyers happiest
• NSW lawyers unhappiest
• Text pg 85-88
Indigenous Lawyers
• No statistics available, unlikely to be high
• 118 graduates from 1991-2000
• 2009 → estimated 500 graduates of Australian law schools
• barriers to access, low socio-economic background, lack of formal education,
language difficulties, cultural differences
• law and legal system have negative connotations
• legacies of dispossession and dislocation
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Week 13 legal culture and future directions. 2012 large law firms merged to become global. Negative: climbing the ladder, anything to bill client. Social and ethnic profile of australian lawyers: mid-20th century (cid:858)white, (cid:373)ale, (cid:373)iddle-class, anglo-sa(cid:454)o(cid:374)(cid:859, australian bureau of statisti(cid:272)s a(cid:374)d law asso(cid:272)iatio(cid:374)s do(cid:374)(cid:859)t (cid:373)ake (cid:396)e(cid:272)o(cid:396)ds o(cid:374) so(cid:272)ial o(cid:396) ethnic profiles, up to general conclusions, effects post world war ii: Australia went from mainly british origin to a multicultural society. Expansion of tertiary education in 1960s and 1970s massive injection of funds from commonwealth government. 1947 government encouraged immigration from war-torn europe and those escaping communism. Asian immigration law until removal of white australia policy: analysis of backgrounds of law students. Early 1980s elite private schools, parent or relative in legal profession, affluent background. Most recent survey of 1997 graduates (text pg 75) 68% anglo/celtic grouping, 17% other european, 11% asian (increased by 4% since 1991: globalisation, law society 2004 23. 5% of members born overseas, 2014 increased to 28%
