Cause Lawyering: Political Commitments and Professional Responsibilities

Why do some lawyers devote themselves to a given social movement or political cause? How are such deeds of individual commitment and personal belief justly executed, given the ideals of disinterested professional service to which lawyers are (in theory, at least) supposed to adhere? What can we learn from such lawyers about the relationship between law and politics? This text is a collection of responses to these questions, featuring a number of legal scholars concerned with anti-poverty lawyers, lawyers who work against capital punishment, immigration lawyers, and other lawyers working to end oppression. Editors Austin Sarat and Stuart Scheingold have assembled here a cross-national portrait of lawyers compelled to sacrifice financial gain so as to use their legal skills in the promotion of a more just society. These essays explore the relationship between cause lawyering and the organized legal professions of many different countries - the US, England, South Africa, Israel, Cuba, and so forth.;This book is intended for law and society scholars, political scientists, scholars and students of the legal profession