The care to the adversarial perspective in family law practice

On one level, the Canadian legal system is adversarial, and is based on concepts of rights, justice, procedural fairness, and equal treatment. It is also arguably androcentric given that, until the turn of the century, it was the exclusive province of men. It has been suggested that women are more likely than men to have a care-oriented approach while men are more likely to have a rights-oriented approach. This has two major implications for women lawyers: (1) women are "reluctant adversaries" in the legal profession; and (2) women offer a "transformative potential" to the adversarial system.;This thesis explores the implications of a care-rights continuum in family law practice. Eighteen women and eighteen men who practise family law were interviewed about their approaches to their work. The lawyers were questioned about their personal strengths for family law practice, how values influence their work, and how they would approach a hypothetical family law scenario.;This research indicates that the approaches of the respondents to their work fell along a care-rights continuum. While women and men could be found all along the continuum, the women lawyers were more likely to identify with a care orientation while the men lawyers were more likely to associate with a rights orientation.;The women lawyers were also more likely to be dissatisfied with the results of the adversarial method of resolving family law disputes. The reasons for this dissatisfaction varied, but they shared a common discontent with the settlements achieved for women in family law disputes.;There are strong indications that women lawyers are making unique and important contributions to family law practice. It has yet to be determined if women will transform the existing adversarial system. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).