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Should a Lawyer Be Allowed in Small Claims Court? Some Empirical Light

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  • Samuel Schwarz
  • Paul J. Herskovitz
  • Deborah S. Kleiner

Abstract

Jurisdictions across the United States are facing the issue of whether or not lawyers should be permitted to represent plaintiffs in small claims court. In this paper, we make use of an expected utility model to analyze how the number of claims filed by attorneys on behalf of plaintiffs has varied over almost four decades in the New York City Small Claims Court. The paper concludes that as the size of legally allowable claims has increased, the percentage of claims in which a plaintiff is represented by a lawyer has also increased.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Schwarz & Paul J. Herskovitz & Deborah S. Kleiner, 1995. "Should a Lawyer Be Allowed in Small Claims Court? Some Empirical Light," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 39(2), pages 65-67, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:amerec:v:39:y:1995:i:2:p:65-67
    DOI: 10.1177/056943459503900208
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cooter, Robert D & Rubinfeld, Daniel L, 1989. "Economic Analysis of Legal Disputes and Their Resolution," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 27(3), pages 1067-1097, September.
    2. Spurr, Stephen J, 1987. "How the Market Solves an Assignment Problem: The Matching of Lawyers with Legal Claims," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(4), pages 502-532, October.
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