The sociology of the legal profession in the digital age

ABSTRACT This article explores how classical sociological theories such as functionalism, critical approaches, and Weberian intepretivism, can help understand the legal profession in the digital age. It argues that functionalist approaches allow to explore the changing societal role of lawyers in a digital world. Critical approaches allow for understanding how the legal profession respond to different constellations of actors and other social forces and how it is characterized by internal divisions and stratifications. Finally, Weberian approaches are helpful to reveal how the legal profession legitimizes itself by developing specific legal rationalities in response to societal and political dynamics.