ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the American legal profession, which includes both lawyers and judges. It examines the working lives of both attorneys and judges in the United States, beginning with a look at the common experience of all American lawyers—law school. The prestige of the law school attended can certainly affect an individual's employment choices after law school. The most wealthy and powerful lawyers work in large law firms and the number of large law firms in the United States has grown exponentially over the year. Since the United States has a common law judicial system, judges work as lawyers before they are selected for the bench. Thus, lawyers and judges are considered parts of the same broad legal profession in the United States. The chapter describes the professional socialization of judges when they first come to the bench. It also consideres issues regarding access to justice for those who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
