Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-qlrfm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T23:45:55.811Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Networking in the Shadow of the Law: Informal Access to Legal Expertise through Personal Network Ties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Erin York Cornwell ,
Emily S. Taylor Poppe Open the ORCID record for Emily S. Taylor Poppe [Opens in a new window]  and
Megan Doherty Bea
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Civil legal problems are common in everyday life, but the costs of obtaining legal representation create barriers to legal action and contribute to disparities in access to justice. Some individuals, however, may have informal access to legal assistance through personal network ties with lawyers, enhancing their responses to justiciable problems. In this study, we draw from theories of social capital and network formation to examine the distribution and mobilization of network-based legal expertise. Using nationally representative survey data, we find that network-based access to lawyers is widespread, and most people who have ties to lawyers expect to informally mobilize legal assistance when facing a problem. But people who are most likely to afford formal legal representation are also most likely to have informal access to lawyers. Thus, while informal access to lawyers may shape responses to legal problems, it may also exacerbate inequalities in experiences with civil justice events.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 635 - 668
Copyright
© 2017 Law and Society Association.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Addis, Michael E. & Mahalik, James R. (2003) “Men, Masculinity, and the Contexts of Help Seeking,” 58 American Psychologist 5–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Albiston, Catherine R., Edelman, Lauren B., & Milligan, Joy (2014) “The Dispute Tree and the Legal Forest,” 10 Annual Rev. of Law and Social Science 105–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Bar Association. (1994) Legal Needs and Civil Justice: A Survey of Americans. Chicago: American Bar Association.Google Scholar
American Bar Association. (2013) “First-Year and Total JD Minority.” Available at: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html (accessed 9 May 2016).Google Scholar
American Bar Association. (2015) Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Chicago: American Bar Association.Google Scholar
Antonucci, Toni C. & Akiyama, Hiroko (1987) “Social Networks in Adult Life: A Preliminary Examination of the Convoy Model,” 42 J. of Gerontology 519–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arnold, Bruce L. & Kay, Fiona M. (1995) “Social Capital, Violations of Trust, and the Vulnerability of Isolates: The Social Organization of Law Practice and Professional Self-Regulation,” 23 International J. of the Sociology of Law 321–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bian, Yanjie (1997) “Bringing Strong Ties Back In: Indirect Ties, Network Bridges, and Job Searches in China,” 62 American Sociological Rev. 366–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blau, Peter M. (1964) Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Blau, Peter M. & Duncan, Otis Dudley (1967) The American Occupational Structure. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Bogart, W.A. and Vidmar, Neil (1990) “Problems and Experience with the Ontario Civil Justice System: An Empirical Assessment,” in Hutchinson, Allan C., ed., Access to Civil Justice. Toronto: Carswell. 1–51Google Scholar
Britton, Marcus L. (2011) “Close Together but Worlds Apart? Residential Integration and Interethnic Friendship in Houston,” 10 City & Community 182–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015) “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey.” (Revised 10 February 2016). U.S. Department of Labor. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaa11.htm (accessed 9 May 2016).Google Scholar
Burt, Ronald S. (1992) Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, Mariko Lin (2005) “With a Little Help From My Friends (and My Financial Planner),” 83 Social Forces 1469–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, James S. (1988) “Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital,” 94 American J. of Sociology S95–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornwell, Benjamin et al. (2008) “The Social Connectedness of Older Adults: A National Profile,” 73 American Sociological Rev. 185–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curran, Barbara A. (1977) The Legal Needs of the Public: The Final Report of a National Survey. Chicago: American Bar Association.Google Scholar
Currie, Ab (2009) “The Legal Problems of Everyday Life,” in Sandefur, R., ed., Access to Justice (Sociology of Crime, Law, and Deviance, Volume 12). Bingley, UK: Emerald/JAI Press. 1–41.Google Scholar
De Souza Briggs, Xavier (2007) “Some of My Best Friends Are…’: Interracial Friendships, Class, and Segregation in America,” 6 City & Community 263–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DiMaggio, Paul & Louch, Hugh (1998) “Socially Embedded Consumer Transactions: For What Kinds of Purchases Do People Most Often use Networks?,” 63 American Sociological Rev. 619–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dinovitzer, Ronit, et al. (2004) After the JD: First Results from a National Study of Legal Careers. Chicago; Dallas: American Bar Foundation; NALP Foundation.Google Scholar
Dinovitzer, Ronit, et al. (2009) After the JD II: Second Results from a National Study of Legal Careers. Chicago; Dallas American Bar Foundation; NALP Foundation.Google Scholar
Elwell, Suzanne E. & Carlson, Christopher D. (1990) “Iowa Small Claims Court: An Empirical Analysis,” 75 Iowa Law Rev. 433–538.Google Scholar
Engler, Russell (2009) “Connecting Self-Representation to Civil Gideon: What Existing Data Reveal about When Counsel is Most Needed,” 37 Fordham Urban Law J. 37–92.Google Scholar
Ewick, Patricia & Silbey, Susan S. (1998) The Common Place of Law. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Felstiner, William L.F., et al. (1980–1981) “The Emergence and Transformation of Disputes: Naming, Blaming, and Claiming…,” 15 Law & Society Rev. 631–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, Roberto M. & Fernandez-Mateo, Isabel (2006) “Networks, Race, and Hiring,” 71 American Sociological Rev. 42–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, Claude S. (1982) To Dwell among Friends: Personal Networks in Town and City. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Galanter, Marc (1974) “Why the Haves Come Out Ahead: Speculations on the Limits of Legal Change,” 9 Law & Society Rev. 95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genn, Hazel, et al. (1999) Paths to Justice: What People Do and Think about Going to Law. Portland, OR: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
Gerver, Israel & Bensman, Joseph (1954) “Towards a Sociology of Expertness,” 32 Social Forces 226–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giddens, Anthony (1990) The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Granovetter, Mark S. (1973) “The Strength of Weak Ties,” 78 American J. of Sociology1360–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granovetter, Mark S. (1974) Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Groth, Markus, et al. (2002) “Commitment to Legal Claiming: Influences of Attribution, Social Guidance, and Organizational Tenure,” 87 J. of Applied Psychology 781–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hadfield, Gillian K. (2000) “The Price of Law: How the Market for Lawyers Distorts the Justice System,” 98 Michigan Law Rev. 953–1006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haines, Valerie A., et al. (1996) “Exploring the Determinants of Support Provision: Provider Characteristics, Personal Networks, Community Contexts, and Support Following Life Events,” 37 J. of Health and Social Behavior 252–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heinz, John P., et al. (2005) Urban Lawyers: The New Social Structure of the Bar. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Hensler, Deborah, M., et al. (1991) Compensation for Accidental Injuries in the United States. Santa Monica: RAND.Google Scholar
Homans, George C. (1958) “Social Behavior as Exchange,” 63 American J. of Sociology 597–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hosticka, Carl J. (1979) “We Don't Care What Happened, We Only Care About What is Going to Happen: Lawyer-Client Negotiations of Reality,” 26 Social Problems 599–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huckfeldt, R. Robert. (1983) “Social Contexts, Social Networks, and Urban Neighborhoods: Environmental Constraints on Friendship Choice,” 89 American J. of Sociology 651–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iida, Masumi, et al. (2008) “Modeling Support Provision in Intimate Relationships,” 94 J. of Personality and Social Psychology 460–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacob, Herbert (1992) “The Elusive Shadow of the Law,” 26 Law & Society Rev. 65–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kana'iaupuni, Shawn Malia, et al. (2005) “Counting on Kin: Social Networks, Social Support, and Child Health Status,” 83 Social Forces 1137–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kossinets, Gueorgi & Watts, Duncan J. (2009) “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network,” 115 American J. of Sociology 405–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kritzer, Herbert M. (1997) “Contingency Fee Lawyers as Gatekeepers in the Civil Justice System,” 81 Judicature 22–9.Google Scholar
Kritzer, Herbert M. (2008) “To Lawyer or Not to Lawyer: Is That the Question?,” 5 J. of Empirical Legal Studies 875–906.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladinsky, Jack (1976) “The Traffic in Legal Services: Lawyer-Seeking Behavior and the Channeling of Clients,” 11 Law & Society Rev. 207–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lai, Gina, et al. (1998) “Network Resources, Contact Resources, and Status Attainment,” 20 Social Networks 159–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
La Puma, John, et al. (1991) “When Physicians Treat Members of Their Own Families: Practices in a Community-Hospital,” 325 New England J. of Medicine 1290–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landsman, Stephan (2012) “Pro Se Litigation,” 8 Annual Rev. of Law and Social Science 231–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laumann, Edward O. & Senter, Richard (1976) “Subjective Social Distance, Occupational Stratification, and Forms of Status and Class Consciousness: A Cross-National Replication and Extension,” 81 American J. of Sociology 1304–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liebler, Carolyn A. & Sandefur, Gary D. (2002) “Gender Differences in the Exchange of Social Support with Friends, Neighbors, and Co-Workers at Midlife,” 31 Social Science Research 364–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Nan (1999a) Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Lin, Nan (1999b) “Social Networks and Status Attainment,” 25 Annual Rev. of Sociology 467–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Nan (2000) “Inequality in Social Capital,” 29 Contemporary Sociology 785–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Nan (2001) Social Capital: A Theory of Structure and Action. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Nan & Dumin, Mary. (1986) “Access to Occupations through Social Ties,” 8 Social Networks 365–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lochner, Philip Jr., R. (1975) “The No Fee and Low Fee Legal Practice of Private Attorneys,” 9 Law & Society Rev. 431–73.Google Scholar
Mather, Lynn (2003) “Changing Patterns of Legal Representation in Divorce: From Lawyers to Pro Se,” 30 J. of Law and Society 137–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
May, Marlynn L. & Stengel, Daniel B. (1990) “Who Sues Their Doctors? How Patients Handle Medical Grievances,” 24 Law & Society Rev. 105–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayhew, Leon & Reiss, Albert J. Jr. (1969) “The Social Organization of Legal Contacts,” 34 American Sociological Rev. 309–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPherson, Miller, et al. (2001) “Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks,” 27 Annual Rev. of Sociology 415–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Richard E. & Sarat, Austin (1980) “Grievances, Claims, and Disputes: Assessing the Adversary Culture,” 15 Law & Society Rev. 525–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monsma, Karl & Lempert, Richard (1992) “The Value of Counsel: 20 Years of Representation before a Public Housing Eviction Board,” 26 Law & Society Rev. 627–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mnookin, Robert H. & Kornhauser, Lewis (1979) “Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: The Case of Divorce,” 88 Yale Law J. 950–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, Phoebe A. (1999) “Risking Relationships: Understanding the Litigation Choices of Sexually Harassed Women,” 33 Law & Society Rev. 201–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouw, Ted (2003) “Social Capital and Finding a Job: Do Contacts Matter?,” 68 American Sociological Rev. 868–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, Laura Beth, et al. (2010) “Individual Justice or Collective Legal Mobilization? Employment Discrimination Litigation in the Post Civil Rights United States,” 7 J. of Empirical Legal Studies 175–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owens, Lindsay A. (2014) “Intrinsically Advantageous?: Reexamining the Production of Class Advantage in the Case of Home Mortgage Modification,” 93 Social Forces 1185–209.Google Scholar
Payne-Pikus, et al. “Experiencing Discrimination: Race and Retention in America's Largest Law Firms,” (2010) 44 Law & Society Rev. 553–84.Google Scholar
Pleasance, Pascoe, et al. (2004) “Multiple Jusiticiable Problems: Common Clusters and their Social and Demographic Indiciators,” 1 J. of Empirical Legal Studies 301–29.Google Scholar
Portes, Alejandro (1998) “Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology,” 24 Annual Rev. of Sociology 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portes, Alejandro & Sensenbrenner, Julia (1993) “Embeddedness and Immigration: Notes on the Social Determinants of Economic Action,” 98 American J. of Sociology 1320–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rankin, Bruce H. & Quane, James M. (2000) “Neighborhood Poverty and the Social Isolation of Inner-City African American Famillies,” 79 Social Forces 139–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandefur, Rebecca L. (2007a) “The Importance of Doing Nothing: Everyday Problems and Responses of Inaction.” in Pleasence, Pascoe, Buck, Alexy, & Balmer, Nigel, eds. Transforming Lives: Law and Social Process. London: Stationery Office Books. 112–32.Google Scholar
Sandefur, Rebecca L. (2007b) “Lawyers’ Pro Bono Service and American Style Civil Legal Assistance,” 41 Law & Society Rev. 79–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandefur, Rebecca L. (2008) “Access to Justice and Race, Class, and Gender Inequality,” 34 Annual Rev. of Sociology 339–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandefur, Rebecca L. (2012) “Money Isn't Everything: Understanding Moderate Income Households’ Use of Lawyers’ Services.” in Trebilcock, M., Duggan, A., & Sossin, L., eds. Middle Income Access to Justice. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press. 222–45.Google Scholar
Sandefur, Rebecca L. (2015) “Elements of Professional Expertise: Understanding Relational and Substantive Expertise through Lawyers’ Impact,” 80 American Sociological Rev. 909–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarat, Austin & Felstiner, William L.F. (1986) “Law and Strategy in the Divorce Lawyer's Office,” 20 Law & Society Rev. 93–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shannon, Careen (2009) “Regulating Immigration Legal Service Providers: Inadequate Representation and Notario Fraud,” 78 Fordham Law Rev. 577–622.Google Scholar
Small, Mario (2013) “Weak Ties and Core Discussion Networks: Why People Regularly Discuss Important Matters with Unimportant Alters,” 35 Social Networks 470–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Small, Mario (2007) “Racial Differences in Networks: Do Neighborhood Conditions Matter?,” 88 Social Science Q. 320–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Sandra Susan (2005) “Don't Put My Name on It’: Social Capital Activation and Job-Finding Assistance among the Black Urban Poor,” 111 American J. of Sociology 1–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Sandra Susan (2007) Lone Pursuit: Distrust and Defensive Individualism among the Black Poor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Smith, Sandra Susan (2008) “A Question of Access or Mobilization? Understanding Inefficacious Job Referral Networks among the Black Poor,” in Lin, N. and Erickson, B., eds., Social Capital: An International Research Program. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. 157–81.Google Scholar
Smith, Sandra Susan (2010) “Race and Trust,” Annual Rev. of Sociology 36 453–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Tom W., et al. (2014) General Social Surveys, 1972–2014. Available at: http://gssdataexplorer.norc.org (accessed 13 January 2016).Google Scholar
Steinberg, Jessica K. (2011) “In Pursuit of Justice? Case Outcomes and the Delivery of Unbundled Legal Services,” 18 Georgetown J. on Poverty Law & Policy 453–505.Google Scholar
Taylor Poppe, Emily S. & Rachlinski, Jeffrey J. (2016) “Do Lawyers Matter? The Effect of Legal Representation in Civil Disputes,” 43 Pepperdine Law Rev. 881–944.Google Scholar
Thoits, Peggy A. (1995) “Stress, Coping, and Social Support Processes: Where are We? What Next?,” 35 J. of Health and Social Behavior 53–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tjur, Tue. (2009) “Coefficients of determination in logistic regression models—A new proposal: The coefficient of discrimination,” 63 The American Statistician 366–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uzzi, Brian & Lancaster, Ryon (2004) “Embeddedness and Price Formation in the Corporate Law Market,” 111 American Sociological Rev. 447–504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Gaag, Martin, et al. (2008) “Position Generator Measures and Their Relationship to other Social Capital Measures,” in Lin, N. & Erickson, B., eds., Social Capital: An International Research Program. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Wellman, Barry (1992) “Which Types of Ties and Networks Provide What Kinds of Social Support?,” 9 Advances in Group Processes 207–35.Google Scholar
Wellman, Barry & Wortley, Scot (1990) “Different Strokes from Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support,” 96 American J. of Sociology 558–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, William Julius (1987) The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Whitney, Jason W. (2007) “Brother's Keeper: The Legal Ethics of Representing Family Members,” 38 St. Mary's Law J. 1101–36.Google Scholar
York Cornwell, Erin. (2015) “The Trials of Indigent Defense: Type of Counsel and Case Outcomes in Felony Jury Trials,” 78 Albany Law Rev. 1239–59.Google Scholar
York Cornwell, Erin & Cornwell, Benjamin (2008) “Access to Expertise as a Form of Social Capital: An Examination of Race- and Class-Based Disparities in Network Ties to Experts,” 51 Sociological Perspectives 853–76.Google Scholar
Zimerman, Nourit & Tyler, Tom R. (2010) “Between Access to Counsel and Access to Justice: A Psychological Perspective,” 37 Fordham Urban Law J. 473–507.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

York Cornwell et al. supplementary material
Download undefined(File)
File 176.4 KB