The Embedded Nature of Rural Legal Services

Sustaining Service Provision in Wales

Bibliographic Data

ID11449589
AuthorsAlex Franklin (0000-0003-4968-6835, Cardiff University, corresponding author), Robert G Lee (0000-0002-4099-237X, Cardiff University)
Year2007
Volume34
Issue2
Pages218-243
Publication date2007-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Law and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0263-323X • E-ISSN: 1467-6478
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-6478.2007.00389.x
OpenAlexW2048005691
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited18

There is a considerable amount of literature on embeddedness as part of sociological theory of economic action. Cultural and structural embeddedness often work together to shape the framework of economic relations, but, in an analysis of rural solicitors, we find unevenness between cultural and structural embeddedness. There are strong traits of the former, through a sense of place and belonging, but much less evidence of the latter with the structural relationships appearing relatively weak and underdeveloped. In a discussion supported by empirical data from a recent survey of rural legal practices in Wales, a number of causes are identified. The paper concludes that trends towards increasingly specialized rather than generalized legal service provision, set alongside the increasingly differentiated nature of rural space, suggest that the longer‐term sustainability of rural legal practices may require both greater investment at the level of structural embeddedness alongside continuing reinvestment at the cultural level

Action (physics · Business · Embeddedness · Investment (military · Legal culture · Political science · Service (business · Social science · Sociology · Sustainability · Work (physics · Cooperative Studies and Economics · Law · Rural development and sustainability · Wine Industry and Tourism · Marketing

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