Baumle Amanda K
a Department of Sociology , University of Houston , Houston , Texas, USA.
J Homosex. 2018;65(14):2053-2075. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2017.1423215. Epub 2018 Feb 26.
Lawyers who practice family law for LGBT clients are key players in the tenuous and evolving legal environment surrounding same-sex marriage recognition. Building on prior research on factors shaping the professional identities of lawyers generally, and activist lawyers specifically, I examine how practice within a rapidly changing, patchwork legal environment shapes professional identity for this group of lawyers. I draw on interviews with 21 LGBT family lawyers to analyze how the unique features of LGBT family law shape their professional identities and practice, as well as their predictions about the development of the practice in a post-Obergefell world. Findings reveal that the professional identities and practice of LGBT family lawyers are shaped by uncertainty, characteristics of activist lawyering, community membership, and community service. Individual motivations and institutional forces work to generate a professional identity that is resilient and dynamic, characterized by skepticism and distrust coupled with flexibility and creativity. These features are likely to play a role in the evolution of the LGBT family lawyer professional identity post-marriage equality.
为同性恋、双性恋和跨性别者（LGBT）客户处理家庭法律事务的律师，是围绕同性婚姻认可的脆弱且不断演变的法律环境中的关键角色。基于先前对塑造律师总体职业身份，特别是维权律师职业身份的因素的研究，我探讨了在快速变化、拼凑而成的法律环境中的执业经历如何塑造了这群律师的职业身份。我通过对21名LGBT家庭律师的访谈进行分析，以研究LGBT家庭法的独特特征如何塑造他们的职业身份与执业方式，以及他们对奥伯格费尔案后该业务发展的预测。研究结果表明，LGBT家庭律师的职业身份和执业方式受到不确定性、维权律师业务的特点、社群成员身份和社区服务的影响。个人动机和制度力量共同作用，塑造出一种具有韧性和活力的职业身份，其特点是怀疑与不信任，同时兼具灵活性和创造力。这些特征可能会在婚姻平等后LGBT家庭律师职业身份的演变中发挥作用。
