| This dissertation examines how the Russian bar (advokatura) and its members (advocates, or advokaty) shaped and were shaped by the first years of a significant political and socioeconomic transition (1985-95). It analyzes the bar's role in the Russian legal reform process, as well as assesses the development of pluralism, civil society, and legal professions, particularly in their relations with the state.;This thesis argues that, beginning under Gorbachev, significant reforms of the advokatura's organization occurred as a result of the initiatives of both state officials and advocates. The presence of competing national bar organizations, new bar associations (colleges), and various types of law offices represents a more pluralistic approach to the process of re-institutionalization in Russia. Moreover, colleges have gained more, though not complete, control over such professional issues as entrance and training, compensation, and the creation of new law offices.;Historical patterns of state-profession interaction and internecine conflict have reasserted themselves, however. First, justice officials continue to interfere in the advokatura's efforts to build a professional program, particularly in the drafting of a revised law on the advokatura, and advocates have not strongly challenged the state's actions. Second, internal divisions, as well as state intervention, have prevented the advokatura from becoming a unified interest group and monopolizing its control over the legal services markets in the 1990s. Advocates failed to reach compromises over major issues of self-regulation.;My dissertation has also shown how advocates now have a broader range of ways in which to represent and counsel clients. Findings on advocates' work in representing clients in appeals against state officials and agencies, in arbitration courts and business consultations, and in environmental and consumer protection cases show how advocates are enabling clients to assert their new civil and economic rights more effectively. On the other hand, revisions to the Criminal Procedure Code have not eliminated many of the traditional constraints that Soviet courts placed on defense attorneys. My findings on advocates' criminal defense work in regular courts and in jury trials in Moscow and Ivanovo indicate that advocates continue to encounter opposition to their expanded participation. |
