IS THERE ANY BACKBONE IN THIS FISH - INTERPRETIVE COMMUNITIES, SOCIALCRITICISM, AND TRANSGRESSIVE LEGAL PRACTICE

This article examines the social conditions of lawyers' moral agency, through the focus of the work of Stanley Fish. A central concept in Fi sh's work, and one relevant to understanding the nature of professiona l groups, is that of ''interpretive communities. This notion is examin ed to reveal its sociological as well as philosophical assumptions, an d their implications for legal practice. The article takes issue with Fish's stance on the value of theory for practice and challenges the n otion of discreteness of interpretive communities inherent in Fish's p osition. It argues that the resources Sor criticism within professiona l groups are more numerous and powerful than Fish allows. Taking two c ases studies, it attempts to demonstrate the transgressive nature of s ome legal practices. In the Fnal section, redefining the law school's community and interdisciplinary scholarship are suggested as devices f or escaping Fish's ''net.'' A critical hermeneutics of legal practice is argued Sor.