THE ECOLOGY OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION, DIVERSIFICATION OF CAREER PROFILES AND DISPUTES REGARDING DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN BRAZIL

Abstract

The paper dialogues with the national and international literature that seeks to analyse the role of legal professionals in the process of democratic backsliding, relating these attacks to structural changes in the legal profession. Going in another direction, it relies on Liu (2022), and argues that a closer look at the ecology of the profession in Brazil allows a better understanding of the specific ways in which the tension between procedures and power is manifested in the legal profession. Thus, it gathers empirical data to show how such tension tends to produce more contestation of established rules among professionals close to state power and those farther from this authority than among most of their peers. The most heterogeneous profile of lawyers without access to these power networks turn to their professional routine, considering it costly to disregard procedures and get involved in politics. Methodologically, the work is qualitative, based on OAB documentary sources, news in digital media and interviews, focusing on ethical-professional conflicts and disputes around the legal order and the democratic rule of law.