Inside the Italian Law Firms

Résumé

Several studies have demonstrated that there is a correlation between the number of Italian lawyers and the litigation rate in the field of civil law. Yet, there are no empirical studies about the functioning of law firms and the connection between the latter and courts of justice. This experimental article intends to "follow the actors”, that is, to metaphorical go inside the Italian law offices to analyse their specific logics of action. This research’s main hypothesis is that the "business idea" that steers every law firm – which is, the specific combination of market, product and structure – can influence the activities of the judicial offices. As a matter of fact, courts and law firms are interdependent as far as some organizational features are concerned, and these features must be analysed to understand and tackle the problems that afflict the judicial systems and influence their ability to “do justice” for citizens. This article’s reflections are based on a three-year empirical research, carried out in three Italian law firms dealing with labour and employment.