Reading Summary
a). Author
Carroll Seron, Martin Frankel, Gregg Van Ryzin, and Jean Kovath’s article “The impact of legal counsel on outcomes for poor tenants in New York City’s housing court: results of a randomized experiment.” Law and Society Review (2001): 159-165.
b). Thesis
Low-income earners struggle to attain legal services when dealing with landlords who access similar services with much ease. However, in a context where a counsel represents the low-income tenant, the person attains justice without posing much delay in justice delivery as thought before.
c). Hypothesis
Low-income earners struggle to secure legal services, hence the reason the representation of the group is lower in courts. On the contrary, landlords access the services, leading to unfairness in the legal process. According to Seron et al., fair representation has a beneficial outcome, and such does not burden the legal systems per se (131). However, the trends in New York indicate that landlords benefit from the sense of fair representation in a case with tenants who lack the services that guide the ruling.
d). Methods to support hypothesis
The researchers employed a randomized technique in reviewing the experience of the low-income tenants in the New York City housing who attained pro bono services vis a vis those lacking the representation. The experimental process commenced with the formulation of the research question before the selection of 377 cases. The step that followed involved the classification of the hearings for the screening heard from September 13, 1993 to June 27 1994. The identified group included 134 participants assigned treatment and 134 control. After the consultation with the legal practitioners, the researchers identified the variables that determined the extent of hearing. The findings represented in tables as percentages considered the outcome of the court process in concluding that the provision of the legal services is beneficial. The participation of the counsel in a case involving low-income tenants defined the fairness that affected the outcome of the case in the sampled population.
e). Findings and Results
The researcher’s findings indicate that procedural activities affected redress for rent hearing cases. As such, it is conclusive to state that the presence of a legal professionals is beneficial to the tenets in hearing. Such validate the hypothetical claims that guided the randomized study in claiming that representation dictates the outcome of the case.
f). Evaluation of Persuasiveness
The writer attained persuasion in their approach to study. They examined the implication of perception of fairness in representation on the experience of tenets from low-income housing in New York City. The investigation in the form of a randomized trial involved the target grouping, who helped conclude that legal representation is beneficial to the tenets who lack the services in a case with the landlord.
g). Personal Knowledge Gained
l learned from the source that the formulation of a strategy that ensures equitable representation of the poor is necessary since the provision of the service by legal counsel improves the outcome of legal cases involving the poor tenants of city housing in New York. I learned that improving representation is essential when dealing with minority soliciting legal services. One can also champion fairness as a pro-bono counsel to ensures that low-income earners attain a sense of justice since such does not create a backlog in the judicial system.
h). Implications for this Research
The research that identified the trends in hearing guided the quantitative assessment of the experience of the poor tenants in New York City housing that proves that counsels can help address injustice in society. The conclusion can help further studies on legal concerns in poor communities. The investigation that indicated that experience of those represented in the control environment varied from that of the one assigned treatment ought to guide policymakers devise ways of ensuring fairness in the justice system.
a). Authors
Dinovitzer, Ronit, and Bryant G. Garth. “Lawyer satisfaction in the process of structuring legal careers.” Law & Society Review 41.1 (2007): 131-138.
b). Thesis
The article proposes a new approach to evaluating lawyer satisfaction in the premise that the experience of professionals is dependent on structural concerns that researchers overlook yet such have profound effects on progression in career. The view of satisfaction equally affects duties and relations with other practitioners.
c). Hypothesis
The text hypothesized that the research techniques employed in quantifying lawyers’ experience that defines satisfaction and career prospects have numerous shortcomings. Hence, the formulation of a new model that considers professionals’ satisfaction based on structural issues other than gender and other variables is necessary. The visualization of satisfaction using social hierarchies helps help comprehend the mechanism that produces the hierarchies.
d). Methods to Support Hypothesis
The researcher exploited a quantitative approach that involved the use of data from after the JD study then conducting a longitudinal investigation. The formulation of the questionnaire followed. The in-depth interview sought to validate the hypothesis by relating the satisfaction of the professionals with performance in duties with structural concern that affects career prospects and perception of satisfaction. The study sought responses from 4538 valid responses.
e). Findings and Results
The research categorized the findings into clusters that respond to different questions on lawyer satisfaction. The data indicated that the stratification technique determines the perception of satisfaction that later influences progression in a career as a lawyer (Larson and Patrick 131). The observation from the sampled population in the longitudinal investigation helped verified the assertion that a new model to research is necessary for the quantification of the satisfaction of the legal professionals.
f). Evaluation of Persuasiveness
Dinovitzer Ronit and Bryant Garth investigated the concern from a holistic perspective by citing real-life cases in the study. The scholars used tested research formulas. The fact that the analysis of the data sourced via mail and telephone interview followed before the comparison of the same with AD approves persuasiveness. The researcher equally proved that the use of scientific techniques in analyzing the relation between the variables indicates that social class is integral in the perception of satisfaction.
g). Personal Knowledge Gained
The knowledge gained from the research is that the perception of the process of structuring the legal system affects the prospects of the professionals in a legal career. The research improved understanding of the role of social stratification on the perception of stratification in legal professions.
h). Implications for this Research
The research is helpful to employers soliciting for legal services. Likewise, the judicial commission seeking ways of a remunerating legal practitioner can infer to the findings in formulating a framework for evaluation. The information can guide lawyers identify ways of researching issues related to their satisfaction in a bid to understand the implication of structural concerns on that affects career prospectus.
Works Cited
Dinovitzer, Ronit, and Bryant G. Garth. “Lawyer satisfaction in the process of structuring legal careers.” Law & Society Review 41.1 (2007): 131-138.
Seron, Carroll, et al. “The impact of legal counsel on outcomes for poor tenants in New York City’s housing court: results of a randomized experiment.” Law and Society Review (2001): 159-165.
Larson, Erik, and Patrick D. Schmidt. The Law and Society Reader II. 2014. Print.