Etherington, Laurence Mark orcid.org/0000-0003-1726-1701 (2016) ‘Public Professions and Private Practices’: access to the solicitors’ profession in the 21st Century. Legal Ethics. pp. 5-29. ISSN 1460-728X
Abstract
Recruitment of trainee solicitors by largely commercial organisations provides the effective gateway to professional qualification for aspiring solicitors. Professional bodies and others have sought to distinguish solicitors from other legal service providers through reference to professionalism and ethics. In this article I present the findings from a survey of the applicant experience of the graduate recruitment process and interviews with the professionals involved in those processes. The research is situated within the literature on professional identity development. The main aims are to contribute to understanding of the way in which graduate recruitment may inform the construction of professional identities, with particular focus on notions of ethicality within that. These engagements come at a critical time for professional identity construction. Despite data suggesting applicant expectations that professionalism and ethics will be important in their future practice, these early encounters do little to support that view. The influence of selection activities most likely marks the beginning of longer-term experiences that diminish the significance of ethicality in notions of professionalism. The data identifies recruiter assumptions as to appropriate ethical character. There is also evidence that the recruitment process may actively undermine ideas such as independence as relevant to legal practitioners.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details |
Keywords: | Solicitors profession, Legal Ethics, Graduate Recruitment, Professional Identity Development |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > The York Law School |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2016 13:23 |
Last Modified: | 07 Feb 2025 00:14 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728x.2016.1189114 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/1460728x.2016.1189114 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:101106 |
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Description: L Etherington Public Professions and Private Practices Legal Ethics Accepted for Publication May 2016