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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).