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London's Legal Elite: Recruitment through Cultural Capital and the Reproduction of Social Exclusivity in City Professional Service Fields

Author

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  • Andrew C G Cook

    (School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, England)

  • James R Faulconbridge

    (Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, England)

  • Daniel Muzio

    (Manchester Business School, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB, England)

Abstract

The authors examine the ways in which recruitment and selection processes facilitate the reproduction of elites and elite cultures within City law firms. The research is based upon original research carried out during 2009, consisting of in-depth semistructured interviews, semiotic and content analyses of recruitment materials and websites, and the analysis of publicly available data demonstrating the educational backgrounds of lawyers practising in the City. By deploying Bourdieusian concepts including the field, ‘doxa’, cultural capital, and habitus, the authors show that, in the firms studied, homologous elite cultures and social groups are maintained and legitimated as part of attempts to reproduce ‘normalised’ expectations about the identity and practice of a City professional. Maintenance is ensured by assessing the objectified, institutionalised, and embodied cultural capital of applicants in recruitment and selection processes, with only those possessing certain types of capital being recruited. This selection by cultural capital limits social mobility in City professions, which are dominated by the upper-middle classes, and helps explain why, in the face of critique and in the context of programmes designed to widen social diversity, the City legal profession remains socially exclusive.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew C G Cook & James R Faulconbridge & Daniel Muzio, 2012. "London's Legal Elite: Recruitment through Cultural Capital and the Reproduction of Social Exclusivity in City Professional Service Fields," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(7), pages 1744-1762, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:44:y:2012:i:7:p:1744-1762
    DOI: 10.1068/a43605
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Louise Ashley & Laura Empson, 2017. "Understanding social exclusion in elite professional service firms: field level dynamics and the ‘professional project’," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(2), pages 211-229, April.
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    5. Adam Warren & Michael Hoyler & Morag Bell, 2016. "From ‘shadowy cabal’ to new profession: Networks of cooperation and competition in UK Higher Education fundraising," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(5), pages 837-854, August.
    6. James R Faulconbridge & Sarah Hall, 2014. "Reproducing the City of London's Institutional Landscape: The Role of Education and the Learning of Situated Practices by Early Career Elites," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(7), pages 1682-1698, July.
    7. Andreas Giazitzoglu & Daniel Muzio, 2021. "Learning the rules of the game: How is corporate masculinity learned and enacted by male professionals from nonprivileged backgrounds?," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 67-84, January.
    8. Louise Ashley, 2022. "Organisational Social Mobility Programmes as Mechanisms of Power and Control," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(3), pages 427-444, June.
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