NCJ Number
140514
Date Published
1992
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper examines how the structure of legal aid may facilitate or obstruct the fulfillment of client interests in the juvenile justice system.
Abstract
This paper argues that the "fee-for-service" model, although profitable for lawyers, has considerable drawbacks for juveniles. By contrast, the Children's Court in Melbourne, Australia, illustrates how young, poorly paid lawyers become skilled and effective in juvenile matters. Instead of going through the slow learning process characterized by new lawyers in the U.S. juvenile courts and duty counsels in Canadian youth courts, the young Melbourne lawyers take part in a training process that quickly familiarizes them with the subtleties of the system, gives them access to communication networks, and makes them part of a subculture that generates both competence and high morale. These young lawyers develop confidence and know they are good at their job. In the Children's Court of Melbourne they accomplish more for their clients than better paid, better dressed, higher status lawyers who occasionally appear in the juvenile system. The practices developed in Melbourne will probably not be imitated in North America, nor in the rest of Australia. The process that produces expertise in legal matters involving juveniles may be good for the clients, but it leads to greater efficiency and works against the financial interest of lawyers. This will likely prompt resistance from the established legal profession anywhere such a program is suggested. 16 references