From refuge to trap: formalist misadventures of Poland’s postsocialist legal profession

ABSTRACT

Since 2015 the populist government of the Law and Justice Party in Poland has spearheaded a highly effective campaign against the country’s lawyers, encountering relatively muted social opposition. Using Bourdieuan lenses, the article traces the roots of that remarkable institutional weakness of the Polish legal profession to the highly formalist approach to law and legal thinking that Poland’s lawyers espoused. Prior to the fall of communism, and in democratic Poland, the role of lawyers in society was to act as guardians of “neatness” of the legal system – or that system’s internal clarity, cohesion, and completeness. Such a sterile approach to legal practice was initially attractive, among other reasons, because it protected the legal profession from difficult legitimacy challenges stemming from that profession’s pre-1989 coexistence with the communist regime. With time, however, the refuge that formalism offered became a trap that undermined lawyers’ political and economic power.     

律师执业精神初探

具有中国特色的社会主义律师文化,是律师行业的精神支柱,而律师执业精神是律师文化的核心。加强律师文化建设,必须形成符合社会主义法治理念要求和律师职业特征的律师执业精神,并以此作为整个律师行业的价值追求取向。本文提出了律师应注意培养的十种执业精神,希望对律师文化建设有所裨益。     

透过民国时期的法官与律师看司法腐败的生成——以江西地区为例

民国时期江西地区是一个富有多样性的司法实践场域,而司法制度变革成效有赖于法律职业群体的努力推进,其中以法官和律师的作用最为关键。由于狭隘的地域人际圈子,造成具有共同专业背景的法官与律师之间固结勾兑的利益联盟。而日益困窘的生活状况又加剧了司法人员权力寻租的恶习,加上司法人员岗位轮换频繁的体制影响,使得家祠化的司法机关成为任用私人和贪赃枉法的渊薮。备受社会舆论和当事人抨击的法官和律师,同时也频频受到体制内的检控惩戒,寄望于如此消极低效的法律职业群体来推进司法制度变革前行,无异于痴人说梦。腐败不堪的江西地方司法预示着基层民众对法律信仰的彻底丧失,而这些旧法统的操持者注定要为旧法统和旧政权殉葬。     

DATA ANALYSIS OF PROFESSIONALIZATION OF LEGAL WORKERS IN CHINA

Since the reform and opening up, the legal profession in China has changed dramatically. In terms of both quantity and quality, the legal profession has stepped into a new phase. A tendency towards widespread litigation and more professionals.＂ judges, lawyers and law students, can be clearly evidenced. Along with the development of the legal profession, other types of legal workers including business arbitrators, grassroots paralegal service workers （grassroots paralegals）, and mediators have experienced great changes. To a certain extent, they have become more marginalized than before. The development of the legal profession is extremely unbalanced. Whether in terms of the number of lawyers or the income generated by lawyers, the inter-provincial gap in China is huge. The development of the legal profession also brings out the issue of judicial corruption. From the number of letters and visits related to lawsuits and the National People＇s Congress deputies ＇votes on the reports of the Supreme People＇s Court and the Supreme People＇s Procuratorate, the level of legal corruption can be noted. This＂ problem has become a crucial challenge to the reputation of the legal profession and the judicial creditability of the country. The same amount of attention should be paid to judicial corruption as to the quality of legal services.     

Legal Aid,Social Workers,and the Redefinition of the Legal Profession in Chile, 1925–1960

This article examines the history of the Chilean Legal Aid Service (Servicio de Asistencia Judicial) from the 1920s until the 1960s. It argues that with the emergence of the “social question”—the concern for improving the lower classes' working and living conditions to promote the nation's modernization and prevent political radicalization—the Chilean legal profession committed to legal aid reform to escape a professional identity crisis. Legal aid allowed lawyers to claim they had a new “social function” advocating on behalf of the poor. However, within legal aid offices, lawyers interacted with female social workers who acted as gatekeepers, mediators, and translators between the lawyers and the poor. This gendered professional complementarity in legal aid offices helped lawyers to put limits on their new “social function”: it allowed them to maintain legal aid as a part‐time activity that did not challenge the structure of the legal system as a whole.     

民国上海女律师的执业困境与自我成就

随着民国女律师的出现,中国女性参与法律职业的空白状态终于被打破,成为中国男女在法律职业上平等之起点。由于“赋权”式执业资格的实现方式,女律师执业权利实现后的经营面临着诸多的困境。初入职场的女律师备受时人瞩目,但旧有的律师评价体系仍用“女流之辈”这类标签,高傲地认为妇女与法律职业是相矛盾的。民国女律师在执业过程中要同时克服来自时代、自身以及同业男性律师的三重困境。面对既存的男性律师关系网带来的压力,她们没有甘心屈居“他者”的地位,而是调动一切资源开展业务,试图跻身民国律师中的佼佼者行列。     

论行政执法

行政从“管理”到“执法”的转变是我国二十多年经济体制和政治体制改革的产物 ,是从几千年的人治逐步走向法治的标志。行政的“执法”性质和“依法”特征是由市场经济、民主政治和法治国家的发展目标所决定的。“行政执法”的实质是行政主体实施行政行为要有法律根据 ,受法律规范制约。行政执法改革不仅涉及执法方式、方法 ,而且涉及执法体制、范围、目标及执法主体与相对人的关系 ,是整个执法机制的转换。     

The Professional Model of Law vs. The Business Model of Law: A Critical View of Opposing Trends in the United States of America and the People��s Republic of China

This study begins by reflecting on the literature characterizing the nature and function of a profession qua profession. It continues by arguing that based upon commonly used indicia of a profession that the practice of law in the US is de-professionalizing in significant ways and morphing towards a functioning business model. The related advantages of such a development for American society, its lawyers and their clients, including especially criminal defendants are critically discussed. It then traces the emergence and ascendancy of the rule of law in China and corresponding quest to institutionalize the practice of law in China as a profession. The study concludes by exploring the alternative advantages of applying the business model to Chinese legal practice. It recommends that embracing a paradigm shift away from the professional model towards a business model, comparable to what is happening in the US, would be to the greater advantage of Chinese lawyers in terms of enhanced authority, increased self-regulation, as well as providing greater leverage in advocating client interests.     

Debate over the concept of the competent lawyer in Japan “What skills and attitudes does Japanese society expect from lawyers?”

It has been 2 years since legal education reform started in Japan. The Justice System Reform Council envisioned the 21st century lawyer as a lawyer who “not only has highly developed professional legal knowledge but also has acquired strong legal ethics based on wide cultural knowledge and rich humanity” (Recommendations of the Justice System Reform Council—For a Justice System to Support Japan in the 21st Century—(June 21, 2001)). Since then, all interested parties have been trying to specify the qualifications needed to be a competent lawyer: What lawyering skills and professional attitudes does Japanese society expect from lawyers; how can they be acquired; and how can they be examined or evaluated? In this paper, I first briefly describe the traditional legal training system and the traditional image of the lawyer in Japan. Second, I look at the history of legal training system reform; summarize images of the lawyer each that interested party envisions, and review the current status of the reform. Then, I explore the optimum way to reinforce the quality and quantity of the legal profession in Japan.     

Why the Japanese Law School System Was Established: Co-optation as a Defensive Tactic in the Face of Global Pressures

In the face of pressures to expand the rule of law, in 2004, Japan introduced a new law school system in order to produce more and better qualified lawyers. This article explains why the new law school system solution was selected from among other alternatives such as reforming the national bar exam, abolishing mandatory legal training, reforming existing legal education, or redefining the jurisdiction of lawyers. I argue that the law school system was adopted because the legal establishment co-opted pro-law school scholars and other reformists. Although American-style law schools have been introduced in Japan, power has not yet shifted entirely from the legal establishment to the pro-law school scholars; while the legal establishment may no longer have absolute control of the Japanese judicial arena, it remains powerful because it successfully co-opted pro-American elites into judicial reform. By analyzing the case of the Japanese law school system, this article indicates that transplants of global institutions may often be more symbolic than practical due to co-optation tactics used by powerful local actors.     

Political Transition and the Rise of Cause Lawyering: The Case of Hong Kong

This article examines how cause lawyering can flourish under authoritarianism. Using the case of Hong Kong, it argues that the process of the sovereignty transition between the 1980s and 1997 contributed to the emergence of cause lawyering by establishing a favorable legal opportunity structure, by creating a political structure that provides incentive for lawyers-cum-politicians to engage in cause lawyering, and by prompting a few dedicated foreign human rights lawyers to move their practices to Hong Kong. Apart from the factors related to the sovereignty transition, other factors also facilitated the rise of cause lawyering in Hong Kong, including a rights-receptive judiciary, an autonomous legal profession, and a government-funded legal aid system.     

论刑事律师的利益冲突规制

作为律师职业伦理中的重要规则,利益冲突及其规制在我国刑事领域受到了不应有的忽视。规制利益冲突体现了律师消极的忠诚义务,是司法程序理性运行的要求,也有助于维护律师的职业形象。根据利益冲突的严重程度,可将利益冲突划分为直接的利益冲突和间接的利益冲突。基于对利益冲突的严重性、实体真实的发现、当事人获得律师帮助的权利、律师自由执业的机会等因素的考虑,律师存在强制性规避和任意性规避两种方式。违反利益冲突规则既会使律师个人承担责任,也会带来程序性的法律后果。目前,律师利益冲突的规制在我国尚处于起步阶段,未来在利益冲突的类型划分、律师规避、法律后果以及司法审查等方面都有待进一步完善。     

民初律师惩戒制度论析——以惩戒案例为中心

律师惩戒制度对维持律师队伍的道德水准和专业素质起着规范和监督作用.在本质上这一制度反映出律师行业的自治性和国家对这一行业监督、管理和控制的互动关系.民初北洋政府时期在律师惩戒领域实行的是两级两审制:由高等审判厅推事组成的律师惩戒会是初审机构,由大理院推事组成的复审查律师惩戒会是复审机构.这一时期的律师惩戒事宜几乎完全被司法机构所垄断,律师公会被排除在外.就制度渊源而论,北洋时期的律师惩戒制度是对大陆法系中日本制度的借鉴,而有别于德国的相关制度.     

Gendering the Legal Complex: Women in Sri Lanka's Legal Profession

Drawing upon feminist standpoint theory and interviews with pioneering women lawyers in Sri Lanka, I argue for a focus on women as a distinct category in ‘legal complex theory’. I consider the following questions in making this claim. What were the internal structures of the legal profession that the older generations of women lawyers encountered as they entered the profession and as they took up positions of leadership? In what ways, if at all, was the ‘culture(s)’ within the profession patriarchal? In what ways, if any, did the entry and advancement of women impact these internal structures of the profession and its culture(s)? And what can we learn from these experiences in predicting the future trajectory of the legal profession? The analytical expansion that I propose reveals gender-based dynamics within the legal complex, such as gender-stereotyped perceptions about women lawyers within the profession, the ‘feminization’ of the profession, and ‘gender segmentation’ within its different spheres.     

The Financial Rewards of Elite Status in the Legal Profession

This article focuses on the role of intergenerational status attainment for legal careers. By decomposing the earnings gap between elite and nonelite lawyers at two points in their careers, we find that inherited cultural capital produces an earnings advantage as soon as lawyers begin their careers and that this gap persists over time. We further find that the processes underlying this gap change as lawyers make their way through the profession. While in early careers, the elite advantage is due to stronger starting endowments, the advantage for junior lawyers results from a more complex process, which combines starting endowments, professional capital gained during the first years of practice, and the rate at which endowments are differentially rewarded in the profession. Elaborating on work that identifies the importance of maintaining and concentrating diverse forms of capital in the legal profession, we explain the process through which elite lawyers gain and retain their advantage over time.     

Barriers to practice by foreign lawyers in Asia – exploring the role of lawyers in society

This paper examines the barriers to legal practice by foreign lawyers in selected Asian jurisdictions, where the boundaries between local lawyers and foreign lawyers are drawn, and why barriers exist. It suggests that many jurisdictions in Asia still consider lawyers to be members of a special profession and are resistant to treating and regulating lawyers as ‘service providers’. In addition, although protectionism is a significant factor behind the barriers to practice by foreign lawyers in many jurisdictions, other factors are relevant, including traditional attitudes towards the role of lawyers based on their traditional role as advocates in a litigious context.     

Disability and the legal profession in the United States

There are more people with disabilities than any other minority group in the United States. However, little attention is paid to lawyers and potential lawyers with disabilities. This article examines difficulties faced by people with a disability as law students through to participation in the legal profession. Aspects of discrimination and issues relating to discipline of lawyers and disabilities are canvassed. The legal profession in the United States is taking steps to increase representation of people with a disability in its ranks but it is a slow process.     

中国刑事辩护制度发展的命运——以建立中国控辩协商制度为视角

从立法的角度看,中国刑事诉讼法的修改,无疑是中国刑事司法改革的一个巨大进步,甚至有人把它说成是刑事诉讼立法科学化、民主化的“一个重要里程碑”也不为过。然而,在司法实践中,就刑事诉讼法的修改对中国刑事辩护制度所引起的实质性影响而言,不仅不是巨大进步,而且是严重倒退。中国的刑事辩护正面临着让立法者始料不及的艰难困境。中国目前的辩护制度状况尚无法满足辩诉交易中国化的基本要求。只有实现中国辩护律师队伍的专业化,赋予中国律师必要的辩护权利和执业保障权利,才能使得辩诉交易在中国移植后,被告人有适格的辩护律师提供帮助,以确保其在控辩协商中得到公平对待。     

当事人主义化的证据规则——台湾刑事诉讼引进传闻规则述评

2003年,因应刑事诉讼当事人主义化的改革,台湾修正并增补了其《刑事诉讼法》第159条,明确引入传闻规则。该规则的引入在台湾法学界引起了广泛的论争,实务部门对此也态度不一,反映了立法和实践的背离。通过对台湾引入刑事传闻规则的原因的深层次分析,可以看出,此次修订立法是符合世界范围内刑事证据制度的发展规律的,但其立法及实施环境中存在的不足,即,立法中对传闻规则的现代法理基础认识的不足而导致的体例一致性和制度系统性的阙失;而司法实践中存在的对传闻规则的观念缺位,则使传闻规则难以发挥应有的制度效应,也预示了制度的移植是一个长期的、逐步磨合的过程。     

The advice lawyers give themselves: the Canadian Bar Association's campaign for timekeeping in the mid-twentieth century

This paper is a historical analysis of how the Canadian organized bar urged lawyers to adopt strict timekeeping practices and use time as the basis for their legal fees. The Canadian Bar Association's compilation of data on the legal profession in the late 1940s–the collection of ‘facts’, the ‘scientific’ nature of this collection–foreshadowed the way that the organized bar would couch its advocacy for the practice of timekeeping in the 1970s. The pioneering experts on law office management in Canada promised lawyers significant profit increases and gave minimal attention to the relationship between legal fees and client's interests.