Multinationals of Law, law and pro bono offices: elements for a comparative analysis of the French and American legal fields

Abstract

Through a comparison of the United States and France, this article analyses the national nature of the juridical field with a focus on pro bono juridical work in multinational law firms and in French law offices. In this perspective, it is concerned with the legal conditions in which law practices and norms can be transplanted from one country to the other (legal transplant). The research initiated with a series of interviews with law professionals in the sector and with the direct observation of interactions between suppliers and receivers of pro bono activities. The first conclusions indicate that most French law offices do not possess the human and financial means to institutionalize pro bono work with the amplitude of a real public action instrument.