Law Schools
‘I Am to Lawyers What Dian Fossey is to Gorillas,’ Says Researcher at New Center
Posted Nov 4, 2008, 04:16 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A law school known for its focus on real-world legal education has launched a new research center that will explore what lawyers do and why clients hire them.
Says political scientist Herbert Kritzer: “I am to lawyers what Dian Fossey is to gorillas.” A professor at William Mitchell College of Law in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Kritzer heads the institution's new Center for the Empirical Study of Legal Practice, according to a press release (PDF) that includes the Kritzer comment.
Kritzer's work focuses on aspects of legal practice such as why clients hire lawyers. For example, his research shows that both income and the nature of the dispute play a role in determining whether to seek legal counsel.
"For those with higher income, the types of disputes that typically result in hiring a lawyer involve estates, wills, inheritance, etc." spokesman Geoff Gorwin wrote in an e-mail to the Journal. "Those with lower income tend to more frequently obtain legal services for family matters, like parental rights, child custody and child support."