Moral Vision and Professional Decisions: The Changing Values of Women and Men Lawyers

What does it mean today to "think like a lawyer"? Drawing on extensive interviews with men and women attorneys, the authors explore how moral reasoning affects lawyers' understanding of justice and their own role in promoting it. This examination of personal and institutional imperatives in the legal profession, illustrated with quotations from the lawyers themselves, raises questions that transcend traditional discussions of legal ethics. The authors examine: the relationship between gender and patterns of moral thinking; the ways that personal morality affects public and professional responsibility; the legal system's response to social changes in public ethics and in women's roles. For example, has the recent influx of women to the legal profession brought moral views that challenge the traditional defining characteristics of a lawyer's job? What happens when a lawyer's personal morality conflicts with the role demands of the profession? In conclusion the authors offer suggestions for constructive changes in legal education and the code of professional ethics to foster morally responsive democracy. All those concerned with moral reasoning, gender roles, and the evolution of the legal system will find this stimulating and timely reading.