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Social Capital and Constraints on Legal Careers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Ronit Dinovitzer
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Abstract

This article focuses on the role of social capital in lawyers' careers by examining the career outcomes of Jewish lawyers. Although research on the legal profession has emphasized social capital as an inherently positive resource, this article conceptualizes social capital as multivalent, with the potential for both positive and negative effects. Drawing on five forms of social capital and examining four separate outcomes (type of practice setting, prestige of field of practice, satisfaction, and income), the analyses demonstrate that particular forms of social capital are indeed related to diverging outcomes. This study finds positive effects for the social capital that derives from reciprocity exchanges, but it also finds that the social capital built through dense social ties can lead to less successful professional settings. The conclusion explores the possibilities this raises for understanding the interplay between religion, capital, and legal careers.

Type
Articles of General Interest
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 445 - 480
Copyright
© 2006 Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

The research and writing for this article were supported by the Law School Admission Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I am grateful to Bryant Garth, Ron Gillis, John Hagan, Ron Levi, and participants in the colloquium series at Northwestern University's Department of Sociology for their helpful comments and insights.

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