Social Agenda
I judged that a natural place to commence these interviews was by establishing why the lawyers entered legally aided criminal defence in the first place. It seemed likely that this factor would underlie both how the lawyers understood their own role and their relationship with clients; these topics might be interlinked.
There was no discernable pattern differentiating Radical and Sausage Factory firms. Instead, the mass of lawyers fell broadly into two categories, as identified by one particular interviewee:
I think some people do criminal defence because they’re fairly altruistic and they think it's a worthwhile thing to do to help and support the most vulnerable people in society: people who find themselves in custody for whatever reason. I think there are also criminal defence solicitors who've almost felt that they've fallen into it. I mean I thought I was coming to do matrimonial law. So people come into crime for lots of different reasons. So I think it’s something that people do tend to either do deliberately because they feel that is something important or come into by accident like I did.
(Evelyn, police station clerk, Swining MacSage, INT)
It was a minority of the lawyers from across the firms, 14 out of the 35 interviewed, who could be described as having ‘fallen into it'. These lawyers had possessed no tangible plan or ambition. An example of these was provided by Dale, a senior partner at Swining MacSage:
When I was in school, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do. I was fifteen years of age and, to be perfectly frank, a friend of mine whose father was a solicitor - he wrote quite a famous legal text book - he said I should go to university and study. And, not to put too fine a point on it, I used to do a lot of [a particular sport] at the time and I thought that possibly going to [a particular university] would be fun, because I could [do that sport] out there.
I didn't have any particular dilemma, people said: ‘Well, a law degree is something you could use for lots of different disciplines'. And, I do remember seeing about that time a film - you're probably too young - Twelve Angry Men. And I thought it was quite good. And I liked the analysis and the twists and turns of it. You know, it gave me a bit of an idea. So, it was a combination of factors really. And one of them, of course, at university doing law, as an Honours, you only had to do eight hours lectures a week. So, all the right reasons! And, if I'm honest it was all that was in my mind. And then, once I got my degree, I went to do the Part Twos, very intensive, six months. I did that, and then, you know, you’ve gone that far and you just get on board, as it were, you know, the train's running.(Dale, senior partner, Swining MacSage, INT)
The majority of lawyers, from all three firms, represented the other category; they claimed to have thought the profession worthwhile, entering for more altruistic reasons. A little over two-thirds - 24 from 35 - of the lawyers professed these motivations. They spoke of a calling for law and, in particular, the ability to help those less fortunate than themselves offered by legally aided criminal work:
When I was a teenager, it was the thrill and excitement of supporting the underdog. It’s always attractive to support the underdog rather than backing the person who’s got the upper hand. And so it suited my philosophy and politics I had at the time.
(Windom, solicitor, Swining MacSage, INT)
I wanted to go into legally aided work - I had idealistic views on helping people: the less advantaged, etc. So I was looking at crime, justice, human rights aspects. I had spent a year working for a charity before that. It was all about helping people for me.
(Catherine, solicitor, Radford Hope, INT)
While three of the four clerks stated that they fell into this line of work, among the solicitors and barristers there was no apparent distinction between rank or the type of firm in which they practised. The bulk of these lawyers expressed values that could be best described as representing a ‘social agenda’.
These lawyers’ central claims were that they cared about their clients and felt a vocational calling to help those in need. These standards were tied into the conception they held of their role and so considered intrinsic to their being professionals.Professionals
According with many lawyers’ social agenda motivations, the majority, from all firms, espoused a belief in the value of the principle of access to justice, with 32 out of the 35 echoing views to the effect that:
I’m very passionate about justice. I wouldn’t even consider doing anything else. I mean, I know logically, if I did another type of law, I might earn twice what I’m being paid. But that wouldn’t interest me. It’s access to justice I believe in.
(Maddy, barrister, Radford Hope, INT)
Lawyers seemed particularly keen to tie this principle in with their own roles as professionals. As such, 33 out of the 35 talked of the importance of their position, many identifying the manner in which they both enabled and upheld access to justice, as in the following quotes:
My role is for access to justice. There are times where you really feel that your being there makes a difference to somebody. I think the role of the defence solicitor is very important in protecting defendants against the state because there are an awful lot of people who are against them.
(Ronette, solicitor, Radcliffe and Musk, INT)
Access to justice is very important. Without that, you wouldn't have a fair society. There's got to be punishment for people who do wrong so you've got to make sure that the people who do wrong are brought to justice. But then, you know, other people, you've also got to treat their case justly, so that you ensure that, if they haven't done wrong, they're acquitted. I always try and remember that, for a client, it's their life.
(Josie, barrister, SwiningMacSage, INT)
It was the more experienced lawyers, though, who most expansively highlighted the responsibility they saw themselves holding:
I go back to a quote that, ‘a properly funded legal aid service is the very hallmark of a civilised society'.
And it is. If people are thrust into the criminal justice system and have the weight of the state pushed against them - for example, if someone is facing a serious legal charge, then they have 50 police office working amassing evidence and they have a vast array of forensic scientists putting evidence together. Then it must feel like the whole world and the state is against you and the only person you've got on your side is your solicitor. That's a pretty daunting prospect.(James, senior partner, Radford Hope, INT)
It's that sense of standing up for the individual. Because they can't do it for themselves; they don't have the expertise and they don't have the knowledge. And that's all we're doing. We're providing expertise and knowledge for a citizen who can't do it themselves and would be disadvantaged if they were not represented... that's one of the essential safeguards and therefore it's essential that there is always maintained a robust, independent profession that deals with criminal defence.
(Bobby, senior partner, Sosig and Sage, INT)
The self-importance contained in their professional position was disseminated regardless of whether the lawyer had presented such principles as an initial driving force behind their entry. All stressed it to the extent of presenting a united front. For lawyers, their apparent determination to do their best to uphold their clients' rights signified a healthy lawyer-client relationship.