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Know The Law: A History Of Legal Specialization, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

Legal specialization is an unexceptional aspect of the profession of law because specialization and concentration are expected of lawyers. There has been a transformation in lawyers’ understanding of the reasons justifying their position in society and, therefore, a transformation in their understanding of what it means to be a “professional.” The ideological reasons for this transformation include: (1) the influence of the ABA in promulgating and proselytizing specialization standards; (2) a continuing insistence by the legal profession of the importance of the idea of a unified bar; (3) the large increase in size and influence of the legal academy, consisting …