Organizing professionalism: integrating institutional logics in Brazilian law firms

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse organizing professionalism and its consequences for the work of lawyers in large Brazilian corporate law firms. Design/methodology/approach The study used qualitative interviews with lawyers linked to six of the Brazilian’s leading law firms. The focus of the interviews was to explore the work organization form considering the changes to the legal profession in recent years. Findings The results indicate that the institutional changes had substantial consequences for lawyers: a need to organize work, to integrate professional and management logic and to develop typical managerial skills to be more connective when performing tasks in work teams. Research limitations/implications Socio-economic changes that gave rise to more flexible forms of work organization have imposed professional restructuring and leading law firms to adopt a business model of organizing. The study is based on qualitative interviews, meaning that the findings cannot be generalized. Practical implications Lawyers need to develop typical managerial skills to align their competencies with the management logic incorporated by law firms. Originality/value Despite the increase of studies on professions, the integration of professional and managerial logic and its consequences to lawyers has been underdeveloped. Furthermore, research has focussed mainly on macro-level changes and given less attention to how institutional changes impact individual level.