Lawyers and Consumer Protection Laws

Bibliographic Data

ID4930527
AuthorsStewart Macaulay (corresponding author)
Year1979
Volume14
Issue1
Pages115-171
Publication date1979-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLaw & Society Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0023-9216 • E-ISSN: 1540-5893
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3053111
OpenAlexW2326539167
LanguageEN
Citations received40
References cited35

The conventional model of the practice of law views lawyers as those who apply legal rules in the service of client interests, checked only by the constraints of the adversary system. A study of the impact of consumer protection laws on the practice of Wisconsin lawyers shows this to be an oversimplification. Lawyers for individuals tend to know little of the precise contours of consumer protection law. They most often serve as mediators between buyer and seller, relying on general norms of fairness and good faith. Lawyers for businesses are more likely to make use of the law, but they are seldom called on to deal with particular disputes. Lawyers' own values and interests are reflected in the way in which they represent clients. As a result, reform laws which create individual rights are likely to have only symbolic effect unless incentives are devised to make their vindication in the long-range interest of members of the bar. Moreover, an understanding of the many roles played by lawyers also requires a more expanded picture of practice. The picture of the lawyer as litigator in the adversary system may itself serve largely symbolic functions

Adversary · Business · Computer security · Consumer protection · Economics · Incentive · Law and economics · Legal profession · Political science · Practice of law · Service (business · Sociology · Computer Science · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems · Legal Education and Practice Innovations · Legal Systems and Judicial Processes

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