Divorce Lawyers and Their Clients: Power and Meaning in the Legal Process

Based on over 100 lawyer-client conferences this book charts the complicated and shifting relationships between lawyers and clients as they work out the strategy and tactics of divorce. As observers, Felstiner and Sarat were present when lawyers and clients confronted the full range of issues that occur during a divorce. This book examines the relationship between lawyer and client, the nature of the marriage and why marriages fail, the nature of the legal process, and the best way to resolve divorce.

1. Introduction: 2. Reconstructing the Past, Imagining the Future: Defining the Domain of Relevance in Lawyer-Client Interaction: 3. Negotiating "Realism" and Responsibility in Lawyer-Client Interactions: 4. Law Talk in the Divorce Lawyer's Office: 5. From Adversariness to Resolution: Lawyers, Clients, and the World of Deals: 6. Conclusion: Notes References Index