Lawyers pursue client aims either as delegates or as trustees with broader goals

Evidence

In his legal practice, Lewis Powell, like most lawyers, served as the “delegate” of his clients; that is, he sought to advance their aims and interests, as they defined them, within the confines of the law. In contrast, Thurgood Marshall served more as the “trustee” for his clients. He sought to advance the interests of his African-American clients by promoting political goals that those clients—and other African Americans—could be assumed to share. Thus, Marshall’s choice of cases, and the way he framed legal issues, were determined by how those choices would serve long-term political goals. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 608

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the delegate-trustee distinction between ordinary client-centered representation and cause- or political-goal-driven lawyering.
• XREF: This delegate/trustee framework is a classic and widely reused distinction in legal profession scholarship — connects to broader literature on cause lawyering and professional responsibility. — connects to: Lawyers act as client delegates or as trustees for assumed group goals — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 895; Delegate and trustee lawyering each create distinctive ethical dilemmas — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 610; Ethical ideals differ between client-loyalty and justice-serving lawyers — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 933 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Lawyers act as client delegates or as trustees for assumed group goals #expands (0.95) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 895
• Lawyers in law reform litigation often pursue remedies that diverge from client preferences. #exemplifies (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1178
• In group litigation lawyers serve the group’s interests, not the individual plaintiff’s #exemplifies (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1176
• In political litigation lawyers rather than clients control the case’s strategy and aims. #exemplifies (0.82) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 757
• Ethical ideals differ between client-loyalty and justice-serving lawyers #expands (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 933
• Delegate and trustee lawyering each create distinctive ethical dilemmas #expands (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 610
• Fiduciary duties respond to generic trustee opportunities for abuse through custody, access, and expertise. #expands (0.75) — Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Impersonal Trust, 66
• A single lawyer can move between distinct roles in the judicial system #qualifies (0.73) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 889
• Professional norms subordinate agency rules to individual client needs. #complicates (0.72) — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 1172