Name, Biro, Advertisement: Forms of Symbolic Capital in Law

Abstract

A unique case of the relationship between the legal formalism and social reality is the legal profession: On the one hand, according to the legislation and professional rules, the profession must be practiced with trust, dignity and reputation; on the other hand, it is not defined what actions are acceptable and legitimate to obtain new files and to have new clients. However, the ways in which lawyers obtain new work and gain popularity and confidence in their professional competence are subject to social influences. This article aims to explore the ways in which lawyers construct and perform recognition and credibility in the actual professional world in the light of Bourdieu's concept of symbolic capital. To explore the forms of symbolic capital in the professional world through the worlds of meaning and experience of lawyers, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 lawyers of different seniority and working conditions. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that there are four interrelated dimensions of symbolic capital in the legal profession. Making a name and network, establishing trust and competence, the institutionalized symbolic capital of the law office and advertising constitute these four dimensions. The common point of first three dimensions is that professional trust requires continuous performance and is a process that is open to external social influences. Advertising, on the other hand, stands in opposition to the professional doxa that fame and reputation will accumulate spontaneously, and short-circuits the legitimate process of acquiring symbolic capital. In advertising, there is the overt presence of the performance and external social influences already involved in the first three dimensions.