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Philip Corboy and the Construction of the Plaintiffs' Personal Injury Bar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Sara Parikh  and
Bryant Garth
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Abstract

Drawing on the career of Philip Corboy, this article examines the construction of the plaintiffs' personal injury bar in the second half of the 20th century. Through a relational biography based on Mr. Corboy's career, we look at the development of this subprofession in the context of the sociopolitical environment within which Mr. Corboy and his peers operated, the social capital they possessed, and the particular strategies they used as they worked to establish both a professional and market niche. This analysis shows how and why Mr. Corboy and his peers constructed a thriving subprofession that is characterized by a unique blend of working-class ideology, trial craft, professional bar leadership, Democratic politics, local philanthropy, and a market referral system—all of which reinforce the dominance and prestige of its own elite.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Social Inquiry , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , Spring 2005 , pp. 269 - 304
Copyright
Copyright © American Bar Foundation, 2005 

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