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Selling and Processing Law: Legal Work at Franchise Law Firms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Jerry Van Hoy
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Abstract

I explore the work of secretaries and lawyers at one of the most innovative providers of personal legal services in the last 20 years—franchise law firms. I show how the organization of work and the nature of the legal work at two firms has led to the transformation of lawyers into salespeople for mass-produced legal services. While clients may benefit from the convenience of franchise law firms, the attorneys employed by these firms are frustrated by limitations placed on their professional judgments and skills.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 29 , Issue 4 , 1995 , pp. 703 - 729
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 by The Law and Society Association

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Footnotes

Two anonymous reviewers provided comments on previous drafts. Once upon a time Terence C. Halliday provided helpful comments also. The research reported on in this article was funded by an American Bar Foundation Professionalism Dissertation Fellowship.

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Case

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