Book Reviews

In Lawyers for Hire, Eva Spangler offers an in...depth analysis of how shifts from "free professional" to salaried status is effecting changes in the structure of and control over the work of the lawyer, the ramifications of such changes for the lawyers' professional life, and the implications of such changes for the rest of society. She prefaces her discussion by demonstrating that, in a move away from the traditional patriarchal type of law firm that operates with a powerful senior partner who delegates little power in main... taining control over the firm, an increasing number of lawyers have come to work as salaried employees in large firms and other work environments which manifest the characteristics associated with bureaucratic organiza... tions. Positing the hypothetical "professional...bureaucratic conflict" which assumes inherent conflict between professionalism and bureaucracy, she sets out to explore the ways in which attorneys are required to conform to organizational demands. New findings obtained through more than 100 interviews with staff lawyers in large law firms, corporate, governmental, and legal aid settings in the New England area are analyzed by addressing issues regarding how these lawyers organize their work in balancing account... ability to an employer with both professional judgment and their clients' interests. Other issues addressed include the possibilities of the salaried attorney becoming de...skilled, the increasing trend toward specialization, and how the two may be related. '. . Spangler devotes one chaptereacli to salaried attorneys in four diverse settings presented in the following order: associates in large law firms (75 or more lawyers); house counsel in business corporations; attorneys in various branches of government; and attorneys who work for local affiliates of the Legal Services Corporation (a/k/a "Legal Aid"). As the type of attorney with which we are most familiar, associates in large law firms are descrip.. tively distinguished from those with memberships in traditional law firms. This informative profile is then used as a basis for making comparisons to and contrasts with corporate house counsel. Both analyses then serve as bases for discussing the two types of civil service attorneys: those who repre.. sent the government itself, and those who provide services for indigent citizens. Throughout the book, Spangler relies heavily on the professionals