In Europe and North America legal careers are affected by two major changes: globalisation and feminisation. “Gendered Globalization of the Legal Professions: Comparing the Early-Stage Careers of Lawyers in Switzerland, France, Germany and the U.S.”, a research funded for three years by the SNSF and led by Grégoire Mallard, associate professor at the Graduate Institute, with Eléonore Lépinard, Nicky LeFeuvre and Isabel Boni-Le Goff, from the Institut des sciences sociales of the University of Lausanne, analyses the effects of globalisation on the professional trajectories of young lawyers in three national contexts (Germany, Switzerland and France). Professor Mallard tells us more about this project.
How did this project come to be?
In Western European countries and in North America, the legal profession is witnessing two sweeping trends: globalisation and feminisation. Indeed, US “mega law firms” have become increasingly important agents in European legal markets, particularly as far as the market of legal advice for corporate clients is concerned. At the same time, lawyers in Europe are increasingly women as each new generation brings more women graduating from law schools and practicing law in various institutional settings. Although some research has explored both phenomena separately, the intersection of these two processes has not been investigated so far: we know very little on the effects of globalisation on the gendered careers of lawyers in different countries.
What are the research’s main objectives?
It seeks to analyse how globalisation is affecting women’s legal careers at a moment when they constitute an increasing share of the population of lawyers. In particular we expect to document in different national contexts how globalisation is altering the rules of the game for lawyers in terms of their social capital, education and legal training; how it is restructuring the organisation of legal practice and changing the rhythm and trajectories of men’s and women’s careers. We also expect to document whether gender inequalities in the legal professions are eroding or not with the massive entry of women in the legal markets.
And what is your hypothesis?
We hypothesise that three factors might contribute to explain cross-national variations with respect to male and female lawyers’ careers: the impact of globalisation on the organisation of the legal profession, the extent to which feminisation has affected all corners of the profession, and the national gender regime. To document these changes, we intend to conduct a large-scale survey addressed to men and women who have entered legal practice in 1999–2000 and 2008–2009; surveys will be sent to about 900 young lawyers in each cohort in each of the selected countries.