Lawyers and Social Change
Social change is one of the most sort after aspects of society today. Social changes affect the society in varied ways. Social change as referred to in the article points to positive social changes. These changes improve the lifestyles of communities. Positive social changes involve activities that lead to the elimination or prevention of unfair or illegal activities in society. That is, they stop certain parties from mistreating the majority or minority of the population. The impact of social change is wide and affects numerous individuals. For this reason, social change is an essential part of society and is highly appreciated.
Lawyering for social change refers to the involvement of lawyers in activities which aim at improving situations of human beings. Social change mostly involves activities such as political activism. The main function of social change is to impact of the affected individuals. Loewy (2000) states that political lawyering involves lawyers undertaking legal cases for the sole purpose of social change. There are numerous social change cases. They involve environmental, political, social and even economic cases. However, they seem not to pay substantially as other cases. Therefore, few individuals contribute their professional insight and help to such cases. The article emphasizes that there are numerous ways in which lawyer presently contribute to political lawyering and shows that it is justifiable for lawyers to drive social changes, especially since they have unique grasp and understanding of the law.
There are several opponents to the idea of political lawyering. These opponents present two distinct arguments against the practice of law in pursuit of social change. The first argument presented by certain parties is that political lawyering affects the lawyer-client relationship. According to the article, some individuals believe that political lawyering encourages lawyers to influence the wishes of the client so as to fulfil the social change he or she desires. The traditional lawyer-client relationship generally followed certain principles that expected the lawyer to represent the wants of the client. The lawyer was supposed to push for the needs of the client at all costs. However, opponents to political lawyering state that the practice encourages lawyers with a social change agenda to manipulate the client’s wants. While these claims may be true in some cases, it is not a sufficient argument to prevent political lawyering (Ziegler, 2010).
The second contention brought forward by opponents is that political lawyers sometimes use the courts to go against the majority by pushing for social change. Some of the issues in social change are those generally oppressing minority groups. The majority’s will may not be supportive of the changes. Opponents to social change lawyering suggest that the practice utilizes legal precedence to go against the will of the majority. The article states that the role of a lawyer is not to the rules of law but to assist in maintaining this rules and resolve conflicts under these rules. Opponents see political lawyers as individuals who want to change the rules using the courts. They state that this role of the political lawyer contradicts the role of the lawyer.
The proponents of political lawyering front two arguments supporting the practice. The first argument states that the law is an expression of society’s values and concerns, and in extension reflects of the morality of society. This means that the law is not just a set or rules as suggested by the opponents. Even though these rules are supposed to be followed to the word they are also supposed to protect every citizen. These proponents suggest that lawyers are justified in seeking social change through the courts since it is in deed their job to ensure that the law is maintained. Upholding the law not only involves following it but also involves ensuring that it accomplishes its intended purpose, which is to express society’s morality.
The second argument supporting the practice uses the precedent that every citizen has a right to gain access to justice. It also utilizes the structure of the legal system. According to these proponents, the legal structure is in such a way that only lawyers and other legal professionals can effectively achieve justice as per the law. They suggest that all aspects of the legal structure are designed for lawyers. Therefore, it is the obligation of lawyers to serve all citizens, including those oppressed in society (Karin & Runge, 2011). Since every individual has a right to justice, it is justifiable for a lawyer to drive social change in any issue for lay people. This argument supports political lawyering since it indicates ways in which the lawyer is responsible in guiding and representing the wants of the client. A lawyer also has an obligation to guide clients on cases involving social change.
Political lawyering in the 21st century has seen an increase in environmental cases. These cases involve lawyers representing clients who were seeking the court’s decision in order effect social change. In a court case against Pacific Lumber Company, the ecological rights foundation brought a lawsuit alleging various violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Ecological Rights Foundation v. Pacific Lumber Co., 2000). In this case the Court of Appeals stated that the defendant did not have sufficient argument against the suit and therefore approved its continuance in the district court. This lawsuit was an act of political lawyering. It involved lawyers whose purpose was to effect environmental changes which affect society.
References
Ecological Rights Foundation v. Pacific Lumber Co., - , 230 F. 3d 1141 (Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit October 30, 2000).
Karin, M., & Runge, R. (2011). Toward Integrated Law Clinics that Train Social Change Advocates. Clinical Law Review, 17 , 563.
Loewy, K. L. (2000). Lawyering for Social Change. Fordham Urban Law Journal Vol. 34 Issue 6 , 1869-1909.
Ziegler, M. (2010). Framing Change: Cause Lawyering, Constitutional Decisions, and Social Change. Saint Louis University Legal Studies Research Paper , 2010-2018.
