ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a detailed case-study of Pivot Legal Society and compares it to a publicly funded legal service within England Wales which stands at a crossroads. It explores the relationship between publicly funded legal work to traditional legal professionalism both within the UK and in North America. The chapter highlights the ways in which Pivot lawyers articulate a model of legal professionalism which positions them at the edge of mainstream legal practice in Canada. It discusses the disciplinary ties which bind them to mainstream legal professionalism. The chapter analyses the marginalized position of progressive legal aid lawyers within England and Wales, which emphasizes the difficulties of putting global lessons into local action. The traditional legal work in which Pivot lawyers engage, involves representing clients arrested by police, presenting cases before housing tribunals and broader strategic litigation, for example, geared towards the protection of sex worker rights or safeguarding tenancy rights.
