Elite lawyers in Türkiye: Educational capital, status hierarchies, and feminization.

This article presents the first empirical sociological study of elite lawyers working in large law firms in Türkiye, analyzing a dataset of 1,303 lawyers from 106 firms listed on the Legal 500. It examines how educational capital, gender, and professional status are distributed within this emerging elite stratum amid Türkiye's rapid expansion of legal education and privatization since the 2000s. Findings reveal that elite lawyers concentrate prestigious educational credentials from both longstanding public universities and newer, highly selective private universities, with younger lawyers predominantly private university graduates occupying lower employee ranks. Status hierarchies strongly correlate with professional experience, university type, and gender, as managerial positions are more likely held by men with public university degrees and over ten years of experience, while women—especially recent private university graduates—are overrepresented among junior employees. The study highlights the distinct national dynamics shaping Türkiye's legal elite, marked by limited foreign firm presence and a growing feminization linked to educational expansion, suggesting further research on career trajectories and social origins is needed.