Exploring the Emotional and Professional Identity of Advocates during Legal Reforms: A Phenomenological Study
Main Article Content
Abstract
The criminal justice system is undergoing continuous reforms aimed at improving fairness and efficiency. However, little is known about how these legal changes impact the personal and professional experiences of legal practitioners, particularly advocates. Specifically, there is a gap in understanding the emotional and professional challenges that advocates face during such periods of reform. This phenomenological study reveals how advocates navigate professional uncertainty and emotional distress caused by legal reforms. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten experienced advocates, and the data was analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results indicate that advocates struggle with feelings of professional uncertainty and emotional distress as they adapt to new regulations, yet they also develop strategies to manage these challenges and continue to provide effective legal defense. These findings contribute to the understanding of the emotional toll of legal reforms and highlight the importance of supporting legal professionals during times of change. The implications for future research include the need to explore the role of institutional support in alleviating these challenges and to examine the long-term impact of legal reforms on professional identity.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Aare, A. K., Egmose, J., Lund, S., & Hauggaard-Nielsen, H. (2021). Opportunities and barriers in diversified farming and the use of agroecological principles in the Global North–The experiences of Danish biodynamic farmers. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 45(3), 390–416. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2020.1822980
Castán Broto, V., Baptista, I., Kirshner, J., Smith, S., & Neves Alves, S. (2018). Energy justice and sustainability transitions in Mozambique. Applied Energy, 228, 645–655. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.06.057
Clark, G. L., & Monk, A. (2010). Government of Singapore investment corporation (GIC): Insurer of last resort and bulwark of nation-state legitimacy. Pacific Review, 23(4), 429–451. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2010.495997
Clark, T. C., Best, O., Bearskin, M. L. B., Wilson, D., Power, T., Phillips-Beck, W., Graham, H., Nelson, K., Wilkie, M., Lowe, J., Wiapo, C., & Brockie, T. (2021). COVID-19 among Indigenous communities: Case studies on Indigenous nursing responses in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Nursing Praxis in Aotearoa New Zealand, 37(3), 71–83. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.36951/27034542.2021.037
Deledda, A. (2006). Afghanistan—The end of the bonn process. Transition Studies Review, 13(1), 155–171. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11300-006-0097-9
Goodman, J. (2013). Humanitarian collective security: Restoring order? Global Networks, 13(3), 345–362. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12026
Lin, Z., Meng, F., Wang, D., Liao, D., Sun, Y., Hou, J., Liu, G., Giannetti, B. F., Agostinho, F., & Almeida, C. M. V. B. (2023). Unfolding carbon inequality across Belt and Road Initiative countries and regions under a global trade network. Ecological Modelling, 482. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110411
Marshall, A. (2022). Digital Colonialism and the Fourth Industrial Revolution—Preventing Exploitative Bio-economies. Journal of law and medicine, 29(3), 866–887. Scopus.
Nakano, C. (1989). Principles of humanistic enterprise in Japan. A new economic system of the future. Futures, 21(6), 640–646. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-3287(89)90048-7
Nguyen, T. D., & Dinh, H. T. (2024). Economic structural transformation: The Vietnamese case for developing nations in a globalization context. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(4). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i4.4261
Oh, S. J. (2018). Historical Injustice and its Implications on International Law in East Asia. Pacific Focus, 33(3), 390–413. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/pafo.12125
Pilyasov, A. N., Kuleshov, V. V., & Seliverstov, V. E. (2015). Arctic policy in an era of global instability: Experience and lessons for Russia. Regional Research of Russia, 5(1), 10–22. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970515010086
Tetteh, B., Baajike, F. B., Baidoo, S. T., & Nuamah, E. (2024). Women’s economic empowerment in Africa: Is economic globalization friend or foe? International Social Science Journal, 74(253), 1011–1031. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/issj.12493
Wittman, H., & Blesh, J. (2017). Food Sovereignty and Fome Zero: Connecting Public Food Procurement Programmes to Sustainable Rural Development in Brazil. Journal of Agrarian Change, 17(1), 81–105. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12131
Yurchenko, S. B. (2017). Logic of order: State hierarchy, law, sovereignty, and war. International Review of Sociology, 27(2), 291–318. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2016.1261500