Juriste d’entreprise : un métier déqualifié ?

Abstract

Unlike lawyers who work in law firms, in-house lawyers belong to the organizations they advise. Based on the case of the legal department of a large retailer, I show how lawyers cope with the tension between their aspiration for professional autonomy and the inherent constraints of white-collar work in large organizations. To be able to formulate effective prescriptions affecting laypeople, the legal department I studied chose to routinize its practices. This work organization, which is coupled with a strong hierarchy, causes junior lawyers to feel deskilled. However, this feeling varies according to their professional trajectory.

Keywords

• In-house counsel
• professional autonomy
• rationalization
• deskilling
• service relation