Satisfaction with the Decision to Become a Lawyer: The Implications for Diversity in the Legal Profession

Abstract

This study is conducted in response to the national attention to the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the legal profession and judicial systems. In order to better understand the work experiences of women and minorities, data from a longitudinal national survey, After the JD (AJD) Study, are used to examine individuals’ satisfaction with their decision to become lawyers through the lens of Bourdieu’s theorization of cultural, social, and economic capitals. The goal is to understand how the underrepresentation of women and minorities was related to their career progress within the structural norms of the legal practice through a comparison with their White male counterparts. The results indicated satisfaction with a legal career depends on individuals’ social origins and the credentials related to the origins, and also on the extent to which the possibilities and potentials produced by the professional career meet the individuals’ expectations. The findings revealed that women and minority lawyers reported similar levels of satisfaction with their decision to enter the legal profession in comparison to their White male counterparts, and presented a challenge to the well-accepted argument that women and racial minorities are underrepresented in legal professions partly due to their low satisfaction and the conscious choices to opt out of their investments in and commitments to a legal career. It is hoped that this study can stimulate further examinations of the structural and organizational practices of the legal profession and promote equal opportunities for women and minorities in the legal profession.

Keywords: Career satisfaction, legal professional, gender and racial inequalities

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-18-05

Publication date:June 30^th 2021