Lawyers play an important role in mobilizing rights, yet the lawyer-client relationship can be challenging to navigate. This is especially true for immigrants who face barriers to accessing rights and protections. Undocumented status multiplies existing challenges, enhancing the need for an advocate. Based on sixty-six interviews with low-wage immigrant workers (thirty-one documented, thirty-five undocumented) from 2012 to 2014, I reveal how immigration status impacts why and how clients seek legal counsel, the expectations they have for their lawyers, and their eventual sense of satisfaction—or frustration—with their claim. As victims of an enforcement regime and legal system seemingly rigged against them, undocumented clients often have lower expectations of their lawyers and may doubt the integrity of the legal process itself. As a result, they often seemed resigned to follow their attorneys’ lead, minimizing conflict. However, undocumented status also limits labor mobility and generates uncertainty about the future, making claimants more willing to settle claims in order to move on. While they are often willing to come forward, many undocumented claimants nonetheless reject abstract notions of justice in favor of a more pragmatic attitude toward legal mobilization: a certain legal cynicism masquerading as client satisfaction.

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法律地位和客户满意度：以低工资移民工人为例

律师在动员权利方面发挥着重要作用，但律师与客户的关系可能难以驾驭。对于在获得权利和保护方面面临障碍的移民来说尤其如此。无证身份增加了现有挑战，增加了对倡导者的需求。根据 2012 年至 2014 年对 66 名低工资移民工人（31 名有证件，35 名无证件）的采访，我揭示了移民身份如何影响客户寻求法律顾问的原因和方式，他们对律师的期望，以及他们最终对自己的主张感到满意或沮丧。由于执法制度和法律制度的受害者似乎对他们进行了操纵，无证客户通常对其律师的期望较低，并且可能怀疑法律程序本身的完整性。因此，他们似乎经常听从律师的引导，尽量减少冲突。然而，无证身份也限制了劳动力的流动性并产生了对未来的不确定性，使索赔人更愿意解决索赔以继续前进。尽管他们通常愿意挺身而出，但许多无证索赔人仍然拒绝抽象的正义概念，而倾向于对法律动员采取更务实的态度：某种伪装成客户满意度的法律犬儒主义。