NCJ Number
86374
Date Published
1981
Length
110 pages
Annotation
A 1979 survey of the Netherlands' legal profession yielded a profile of the Dutch attorney with respect to social status and education and professional law practice in its commercial and public service forms.
Abstract
The study was initiated to assess the newly emerging practice of 'lawyer collectives,' which have been providing counsel to indigent defendants in the major Dutch cities since 1974. The effort grew into a universal survey of the country's lawyers (3,335), to which one-third (1,311) responded, providing a comprehensive view of the profession and its service provision. In comparison to 1970, the responses evidenced an increase in the number of lawyers, of whom there are now 26 per every 100,000 inhabitants. Almost half are aged 34 or younger, as compared to one-fifth in that age group a decade earlier. The number of women have doubled, now constituting 18 percent of the profession. Clear distinctions exist between commercial and social orientations of legal practice. The former are characterized by older practitioners, large private firms, and much prestige; the latter are operated by younger professionals in collectives serving a more disadvantaged clientele. Many women were found to be practicing family law. Footnotes, tabular data, charts, and 42 references are given. Correspondence, the survey instrument, and additional data are appended.