Most research on the relationship between social forces and the evolution of the legal profession focuses on the practice of law in corporate law firms. This study departs from this traditional focus to investigate the changing nature of the legal profession from the perspective of advocacy lawyering. Focusing on legal rights lawyers and left activist lawyers, it investigates how lawyers operating at the margins of the legal profession respond to the norms and ideology of the legal profession. In addition, the research discerns whether there are differences in the political ideology and professional norms of legal rights lawyers in comparison to activist lawyers who practice law with the explicit goal of advancing the interests of the political left. Also, it explores how shifts in the larger society influence both types of advocacy lawyering. Focusing on a sample of lawyers affiliated with the Seattle membership of the National Lawyers Guild and a sample of attorneys working with local legal rights organizations in the Seattle area, the researchers employ an interview protocol to explore relationships among social change, different forms of advocacy lawyering, and the norms of the legal profession. In addition to broadening research on the transformation of the legal profession, the study offers new insights into the ongoing public and professional debates about the efficacy of rights as a means of promoting social change in the United States.
