This chapter will appear in the forthcoming book edited by Robert Granfield and Lynn Mather entitled Private Lawyers and the Public Interest: The Evolving Role of Pro Bono in the Legal Profession (Oxford University Press 2009). Drawing on the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu and data from...

Women have become increasingly visible as leading advocates for social causes in a male-dominated profession. Their advancement in a specialized and often risky law practice illustrates a general process by which lawyers establish themselves as influential interpreters of law, enabling them to...