Building Lawyers’ Careers

From the structure of the profession as a whole to the structure of individual careers to the structural discrimination some face, this thematic introduction explores the role of "structure" in "The Making of Lawyers' Careers," and includes a discussion with author Robert Nelson, a professor of sociology at Northwestern University.

How do lawyers proceed when presented with opportunities or obstacles? In this interview with Bryant Garth, Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of California Irvine School of Law and codirector of the Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession, we discuss how lawyers interviewed in the After the JD study navigated tension or seized opportunities for growth.

"The Making of Lawyers' Careers" highlights how certain lawyers are marginalized in elite law firm settings; how parenthood and masculine cultures intersect in the profession; and how student debt impacts the most marginalized populations. To learn more about inequality in the profession, we speak to one of the authors, Ronit Dinovitzer, a professor of sociology at the University of Toronto and a researcher on the After the JD project.