Editor: Philip Thomas
Publisher: Cavendish,
Price: £24.95
At a time when the political debate over elitism is raging and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is conducting a thorough investigation into the practices of both sides of the legal profession, what is needed is a considered view.
Discriminating Lawyers is a collection of 10 recent academic studies, edited by Philip Thomas, professor of Law at Cardiff University. Through the bundling together of various pieces of research, the book covers the whole range of ‘discriminatory’ practices in the legal profession, from the recruitment of trainee solicitors and pupils to the selection of judges, via the experience of women lawyers, ethnic minorities and partnership prospects.
For the practising lawyer, the pertinent chapters, especially the one that focuses on the OFT’s investigation on barriers to entry, are those on recruitment. The conclusions of these chapters go beyond the sometimes simplistic view that firms and chambers just recruit white, middle-class students who correspond with their own image. The book concludes that the apparently logical practice of recruiting lawyers from the best universities increasingly discriminates against those without private financial means, as funding cuts mean that bright students cannot necessarily afford to travel to the best universities.
Also of interest is the chapter covering a less publicised area – the bleak outlook in law firms for those who do not make it as partner: ‘up or out’ as the book describes it. But even in those chapters where the conclusions are less surprising, such as the positions of women and ethnic minorities, the reasons why are sometimes more unexpected, for example, the use of salaried partnership as a sop to ambitious female lawyers without giving away ownership.
The final chapter on judicial appointments was commissioned and facilitated by the Lord Chancellor’s Department (LCD). Since the conclusions of the chapter are that the system is fundamentally unfair and could lead to the dilution of the quality of the bench, it will be interesting to see if the LCD actually takes any significant action as a result.
The fact that this book has its roots in academic study is a strength and a weakness. While the copious amounts or statistics and sources lends credence to the book’s arguments, they can become overwhelming and the argument becomes too theoretical in places. Nevertheless, it remains readable and, more importantly, balanced.
As the Home Secretary, among others, has recently demonstrated, the legal profession, with its overwhelmingly middle-class constituency and occasionally anachronistic practices is an easy target for those with agendas or axes to grind.
What makes this book worth reading is that it is not a rant written by some firebrand left-wing academic from a new university with a grievance over the low take-up of its law students. Indeed, it is far from entirely negative about the profession. Thomas praises the efforts of the Law Society and Bar Council in instituting equal opportunities policies and complaints procedures. He notes the steep rise in the proportion of both professions coming from ethnic minorities. Thomas also takes the realistic view that firms and chambers are businesses first and foremost rather than social engineers.
But he also warns that despite official efforts discrimination in many forms is still prevalent throughout the profession. The overall theme that comes through from the collected studies is that few of the ‘discriminatory’ practices described are actually overt. Rather, they are the result of traditional practices that have failed to keep pace with the times.
In these politically correct days,
it is perhaps a study that the profession should take note of before the Government uses it as yet another excuse to attack the legal profession.
