Learning to be a lawyer in transnational law firms: communities of ...
Learning to be a lawyer in transnational law firms: communities of ...
Learning to be a lawyer in transnational law firms: communities of ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>be</strong> a <strong><strong>law</strong>yer</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>transnational</strong> <strong>law</strong> <strong>firms</strong>: <strong>communities</strong> <strong>of</strong> practice,<br />
<strong>in</strong>stitutions and identity regulation<br />
Abstract<br />
This paper exam<strong>in</strong>es the way English <strong>transnational</strong> <strong>law</strong> <strong>firms</strong> use <strong>communities</strong> <strong>of</strong> practice <strong>to</strong><br />
connect <strong>to</strong>gether, as ‘islands <strong>of</strong> expertise’, <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>in</strong> different European countries. Through<br />
analysis <strong>of</strong> orig<strong>in</strong>al empirical material collected through <strong>in</strong>terviews the paper shows how <strong>firms</strong><br />
use <strong>communities</strong> <strong>of</strong> practice <strong>to</strong> not only transfer home-country <strong>be</strong>st practices <strong>to</strong> European <strong>of</strong>fices<br />
but also <strong>to</strong> manage the geographically heterogeneous affects <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>stitutional contexts on the<br />
attitudes and values <strong>of</strong> <strong><strong>law</strong>yer</strong>s – what we refer <strong>to</strong> as <strong><strong>law</strong>yer</strong>s’ geographically heterogeneous<br />
identities. As such the contribution <strong>of</strong> the paper is tw<strong>of</strong>old. First the paper highlights the<br />
important ‘identity regulation’ role <strong>of</strong> <strong>communities</strong> <strong>of</strong> practice that coexists and contributes <strong>to</strong><br />
the wider organizational learn<strong>in</strong>g role focussed upon <strong>in</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g studies. Second the paper shows<br />
how <strong>transnational</strong> corporations use <strong>communities</strong> <strong>of</strong> practice as part <strong>of</strong> their ‘<strong>in</strong>stitutional<br />
entrepreneurship’ strategies which seek <strong>to</strong> m<strong>in</strong>imise the effect <strong>of</strong> nationally variable <strong>in</strong>stitutional<br />
contexts on overseas activities.<br />
2