ABSTRACT
As the role of the courts and legal institutions in Cuban society shrank, legal education as well as the legal profession began to atrophy. Recovery of the legal profession, in terms of both prestige and importance, would take several decades, but by the mid-1960s it was recognized that the legal profession not only had relevance to the development of the socialist system but was essential to the process of institutionalization. The 1977 revision of the law of judicial organization stipulated that legal representation be conducted in a manner that would "avoid abusing the legal guarantees of defense in ways that would impede the social functions of justice". The organization has also become much more actively involved in the debate over legal reform, particularly in civil and criminal law, and the National Organization of Bufetes Colectivos has sponsored a number of regional conferences on legal issues.
