For the Poor and Disenfranchised: An Institutional and Historical Analysis of American Public Interest Law, 1876-1990

Robert Sauté's study explores over a century of public interest representations, pro bono legal work, and litigation groups such as the ACLU and NAACP's Inc. Fund from a social science perspective of history and institutional analysis. -- 'For the Poor and Disenfranchised' is a sociological account of the public interest bar in the United States. It traces how the legal profession delivered on the legal system's promise of equal justice for all by making the legal system available to all and a vehicle for substantive justice, exploring political mobilization, entrepreneurial lawyering, and pro bono publico representation. -- "In this dramatic and detailed account, Robert Saute documents the establishment and evolution of the public interest bar, particularly its struggles to provide zealous advocacy for its clients. Through meticulous historical research in case studies of the New York Legal Aid Society, NAACP, ACLU, and Legal Services Corporation, Saute's book analyzes how access to the legal system has been affected by cultural and structural changes in society and in American politics. His chapter on pro bono in large firms reveals how a new generation of elite lawyers defines its commitment to professionalism and the poor." - Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, Distinguished Professor, Graduate Center, CUNY; Author, Women in Law -- This is the 2016 hardcover printing, for scholars, libraries, and others, of the December 2014 book.

Robert Sauté received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the City University of New York's Graduate Center. He currently teaches in the Labor and Employment Relations program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is an editor, and lives in New York City.