AN AREA SAMPLE, BASED UPON 1960 CENSUS TRACTS AND PROPORTIONED ACCORDING TO THE CITY'S POPULATION, WAS OBTAINED IN 1967-1968 FOR A MEDIUM-SIZED SOUTHERN CITY. WITHIN EACH TRACT, THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF EVERY FOURTH RESIDENCE WAS INTERVIEWED BY SOCIOLOGY MAJORS AT THE LOCAL UNIVERSITY UNTIL THE TRACT QUOTA WAS MET. THE TOTAL SAMPLE INCLUDED 1,327 HOUSEHOLDS. THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT USED IN THE STUDY OBTAINED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INTERVIEWEES; NUMBER AND KINDS OF CONTACTS WITH THE LEGAL SYSTEM; RECOGNITION AND DISPOSITION OF LEGAL PROBLEMS; AND EXPERIENCE WITH, AND ATTITUDES TOWARD LAWYERS AND THEIR HANDLING OF LEGAL PROBLEMS. IT WAS FOUND THAT IN CONTACTS WITH THE LEGAL SYSTEM, THE BLACK EXPERIENCE WAS MORE RESTRICTED THAN THAT OF WHITES, AND MORE LIKELY TO INVOLVE STIGMA. IN CONTRAST WITH WHITES, BLACKS WERE ALSO LESS LIKELY TO RECOGNIZE WHEN THEY HAD A LEGAL PROBLEM AND WERE MORE LIKELY TO RELY ON OTHERS AS SOURCES OF INFORMATION IN ASCERTAINING THEIR PROBLEMS. FURTHER, BLACKS WERE MORE INCLINED THAN WHITES TOWARD A 'WAIT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS' POSTURE IN PROBLEM RESOLUTION RATHER THAN RESORT TO OTHER ALTERNATIVES. IT WAS SHOWN, TOO, THAT BLACKS WERE DIFFERENTIALLY TREATED IN THE INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE LAWYER-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. WHEN RACIAL CATEGORIES WERE CONTROLLED, BLACK AND WHITE RESPONSE BEGAN TO CONVERGE AT HIGHER OCCUPATIONAL AND INCOME LEVELS. THE NATURE OF THE CONVERGENCE SUGGESTS THAT MANY OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPINGS MAY BE CLASS DIFFERENCES. ASSOCIATED RESEARCH TOPICS ARE IDENTIFIED FOR FUTURE STUDY. DATA FROM THE SURVEY ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)