The Principled Legal Firm: Insights into the Professional Ideals and Ethical Values of Partners and Lawyers

Abstract

Understanding how the professional ideals and values of partners influence lawyers’ everyday life is a relatively unexplored area given the inherent difficulties of gaining access to lawyers. This case study sheds light on the professional ideals and ethical values of partners and lawyers in a mid-tier Sydney law firm. Semi-structured interviews with partners and lawyers/legal clerks reveal how partners’ professional ideals and ethical values play a pivotal role in: (1) upholding positive normative evaluations of lawyer/firm propriety (moral legitimacy), (2) stressing the importance of a balanced working life (cognitive legitimacy) and (3) satisfying younger lawyers’ needs for personal support, autonomy and responsibility (pragmatic legitimacy). The principled actions of partners are portrayed as the cornerstone of shaping a moral community in legal practise.