904
Views
11
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Special Section: Legal Pluralism and Its Contribution to the Global South-Global North Paradigm

The UK Citizens Advice service and the plurality of actors and practices that shape “legal consciousness”

Pages 461-475 | Received 22 May 2016, Accepted 09 Sep 2016, Published online: 06 Oct 2016
 

ABSTRACT

The UK presents an extreme case of the “austerity” politics that define “access to justice” across several “global north” contexts. This paper addresses a dimension of law within this distinct “global north” setting that has been brought into relief by these changes, namely the key role played by advice services in “translating” legal frameworks for individuals seeking to understand and engage with the legal problems that are dominating their lives. They bring into relief, that is, the plurality of actors involved in shaping the ways in which legal frameworks are discussed and interpreted, a plurality that disrupts the dominant image in which a group of experts provide information for a homogenous public. Noting the importance for understanding “legal consciousness” of engaging with these plural actors and practices, drawing upon research carried out with the UK Citizens Advice service the paper investigates the different ways in which legal information is translated across the varying emotional dynamics of the adviser–client relationship. It describes how advice work incorporates a “relational legal labour”, a work seeking to transform the client by enabling a “shifting of attachments”.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Morag McDermont and John Clarke for their comments and advice on the various drafts of this paper and their support throughout the fieldwork process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Part-way through our research the word “Bureau” was dropped from the title following a branding consultation process. I continue to use the term here as it remains in use across the service.

2. As part of our project we also carried out a phone survey of clients (NSLC Citation2015), among whom 36% had come to the CAB before seeking information anywhere else.

3. Doe v. Condon, 532 S.E.2d 879 (S.C. 2000).

4. All names used in the paper are pseudonyms.

5. Of these methods, the participant observation raised the most significant ethical challenges with regard how other participants were kept informed of and were able to consent to participation in the research.

6. Despite the significant transformations within the service over this time, it remains bound to the image of the “twin-set and pearls”: philanthropic middle-classes delivering advice with little or no training (Treloar Citation2011).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the European Research Council [grant number 284152].

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.