Running to the top? Young business lawyers’ socialization and life trajectories

Abstract

This article goes back to former discussions around socialization and socio-professional inequalities to contribute to a better understanding of reproduction and/ or mobility processes in contemporary societies. Taking the case of the professional socialization of young lawyers in large law firms, we analyse recruitment and selection procedures. To accomplish it we use life stories, exploring the significances and meanings of social practices. Collected data confirms a double dynamic with coexisting and, more expected, elite reproduction phenomena, and ascendant mobility trajectories grounded on selective educational spaces and peers’ socialization.