NCJ Number
81339
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 5 Issue: 4 Dated: (1981) Pages: 311-324
Date Published
1981
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Noting the historical negative public perception held of attorneys, a two-by-two factorial design was created to assess the relative roles of legal competence and relational skill in the formation of client attitudes toward attorneys.
Abstract
A group of 93 subjects viewed a simulated, videotaped attorney-client interview in which the attorney demonstrated one of the following: high legal competence and high relational skill; low legal competence and high relational skill; high legal competence and low relational skill; low legal competence and low relational skill. Analysis of questionnaires completed by the subjects after viewing the tapes revealed that the attorney having high legal competence and high relational skill was viewed as the most expert, attractive, trustworthy, capable of satisfying the client, and worthy of recommendation for future services. The attorney having low legal competence and high relational skill was rated second on 16 of the 17 measures employed, indicating that relational skill contributes more to the formation of a client's perception of the attorney than does the attorney's level of legal competence. Implications of these results are that institutions for the training of attorneys should emphasize relational and interpersonal skills as well as legal competence. Tables, footnotes, and eight references are given. The study instrument is appended. (Author abstract modified)