Working in law’s borderlands: translation and the work of an advice office

McDermont, M. and Kirk, E. (2017) Working in law’s borderlands: translation and the work of an advice office. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 7(7), pp. 1445-1464.

Abstract

Increasing ly people in the UK are turning to voluntary sector advice organisations for help and support in dealing with everyday problems . Here w e argue that advice organisations, who work in the borderlands of law , are nevertheless key players in legal arenas , focusin g on local Citizens Advice offices supporting clients with employment problems. We look at the making of advisers as border- workers through programmes which turn volunteers into employment advisers; and the paid advisers who inhabit spaces on the edges of the profession. We examine the social practices of these advisers, the ways in which law -work becomes translation and advice -work becomes a process of co -production between adviser and client. In concluding, we consider how far into the legal arena it is p ossible to go with limited resources ; and what happens when translating the technicalities of law no longer works. Translation comes to mean advisers turning to their activist -selves and adopting political tactics.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kirk, Dr Eleanor
• Authors: McDermont, M., and Kirk, E.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Journal Name: Oñati Socio-Legal Series
• Publisher: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
• ISSN: 2079-5971
• ISSN (Online): 2079-5971
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Oñati Socio-Legal Series 7(7):1445-1464
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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