THE STUDY SELECTED THE CASE RECORDS OF 83 FAMILIES WHO HAD BEEN SEEN BY A SOCIAL WORKER FOR AT LEAST 2 MONTHS FROM A QUASI-PUBLIC PROTECTIVE AGENCY, A LARGE FAMILY AGENCY, AND A PSYCHOLOGICALLY ORIENTED AGENCY. LEGAL ISSUES REFERRED TO SITUATIONS WHERE FAMILY MEMBERS' RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, AND DUTIES WERE INVOLVED, WHILE INVOKING THE LAW TO PROTECT OR ENFORCE SUCH RIGHTS WAS TERMED A LEGAL DISPUTE. SITUATIONS CONTAINING BOTH ELEMENTS WERE CALLED LEGAL INCIDENTS. THE CONTENT OF LEGAL DISPUTES AND ISSUES WAS CLASSIFIED INTO PROPERTY, PERSONAL, AND COMMUNITY INCIDENTS. LAWYERS USED THESE CATEGORIES TO CODE INFORMATION, AND RELIABILITY WAS CHECKED BY DOUBLE CODING. VIRTUALLY ALL CASES STUDIED MANIFESTED LEGAL INCIDENTS, AND APPROXIMATELY HALF WERE ENGAGED IN LEGAL DISPUTES. A CASE FREQUENTLY EXHIBITED SEVERAL TYPES OF LEGAL CONTENT. FOR EXAMPLE, A MARRIED CLIENT WITH CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN CONSIDERING SEPARATING FROM HER UNEMPLOYED HUSBAND WAS CONCERNED ABOUT CREDITORS WHILE HER UNMARRIED DAUGHTER WANTED AID TO DEPENDENT CHILDREN FOR HER ILLEGITIMATE CHILD. PERSONAL INCIDENTS TENDED TO BE LEGAL ISSUES ONLY, BUT FAMILIES WITH COMMUNITY OR PROPERTY PROBLEMS WERE LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED IN LEGAL DISPUTES. THE STUDY CONCLUDED THAT SOCIAL WORKERS SHOULD BE MORE MORE SENSITIVE AND KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT LEGAL MATTERS, ALTHOUGH THIS COULD CONFLICT WITH THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF THE CASEWORKER AS A LIMITED PRACTITIONER. BASED ON A REVIEW OF THE MANY LEGAL INCIDENTS THAT WERE IGNORED BY SOCIAL WORKERS IN THE 83 CASES, A LIST OF QUESTIONS ON LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES IS INCLUDED WITH CASE EXAMPLES. TABLES, A CHART, AND FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED. FOR RELATED ARTICLES, SEE NCJ-64125. (MJM)