The Practice of Immigration and Nationality Law: Setting Boundaries of Specialization at the Margins

Drawing on literature on professions and specialization, both within the legal profession and outside of it in disciplines such as medicine, teaching, and scientific research this paper looks at immigration and nationality law practice as a specialist area established through boundary setting in England. It analyses the boundaries placed on knowledge and authorised practice of law by examining how these lead to new specializations. Situated at the margins of legal practice, immigration law represents a low status area of practice which is not just influenced by market forces.Driven by external factors and internal motivations, the process of specialization operates to create niche areas of knowledge and expertise within immigration law. We find that the process of specialization can have contradictory effects: both consolidating professional values as well as leading potentially to de-professionalization.