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Intraprofessional Competition and Earnings Inequalities Across a Professional Chasm: The Case of the Legal Profession in Québec, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Fiona M. Kay
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Abstract

Intraprofessional rivalry has a long history. This article examines earnings disparities as a dimension of intraprofessional competition among avocats and notaires in the civil law system of Québec, Canada. Drawing on two large-scale surveys and in-depth interviews with legal professionals, I examine three competing perspectives of earnings inequalities: human capital, social-symbolic capital, and organizational-structural explanations. Through this analysis I seek to examine whether similar causal processes shape earnings across the two spheres of legal practice in Québec. The findings of this study clearly demonstrate that these two professional groups are equipped with differential stocks of capital, and conversion rates differ drastically. Avocats receive greater exchange on their investments in human and social-symbolic capitals. These disparities are most pronounced in sectors of the profession where jurisdictional frictions abound: among notaires and avocats working as solo practitioners and in small firms within competitive urban contexts. The article concludes with a discussion of theoretical extensions and future directions for the study of legal professionals in civil law systems and blended jurisdictions.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 901 - 938
Copyright
© 2009 Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

This research was supported by a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (#816-96-0035) and was made possible by the generous cooperation of La Chambre des notaires du Québec and Le Barreau du Québec. Je voudrais remercier Carole Brosseau et André Turmel au Barreau du Québec et Josée Deschênes à La Chambre des notaires du Québec pour leur encouragement et assistance avec ce projet de recherche. Numerous colleagues offered valued advice and support throughout the project. I wish to thank Paul Bernard, Sophie Bourque, Joan Brockman, Réné Laperrière, Vilaysoun Loungnarath Jr., Patricia Parker, Vince Sacco, Luc Thériault, Claude Thomasset, Jean Wallace, and Deena White. Je voudrais aussi remercier le Centre de recherche en droit public, Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal, d'avoir fourni l'auteur avec un milieu encourageant de recherche productif pendant un congé sabbatique. I also acknowledge research assistance of Tara Carnochan and Katharine Zhang and translation services of Geneviève Proulx. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the guidance and insight offered by the Editor, Carroll Seron, and four anonymous reviewers at Law & Society Review. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of La Chambre des notaires du Québec or Le Barreau du Québec.

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