This is the first collection of essays on legal ethics which addresses the subject comparatively. There is no similar work in the US. The empirical research from which the conference originally sprang remains a rare example of collaborative research between academic and practising lawyers. From the professor's side, public concern at the cost and quality of justice is forcing them to look beyond practitioners' manuals and the trade press for ideas.

From the academic side there is great interest in the study of ethics and culture in the legal profession and the answers which this study may provide to wider questions concerning the content and practice of law at the access to justice debate.