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Inside the "Red Circle": The Production of China's Corporate Legal Elite

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jingqi Zhu, Dr Yang Zhao

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This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by Oxford University Press, 2020.

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Abstract

This article examines the production of corporate legal elite through a systematic analysis of the profiles of the first three cohorts of partners in nine elite corporate law firms in Beijing. We argue that the social production of the Chinese corporate legal elite is primarily an outcome of domestic social factors rather than international factors. It is characterized by local elite recruitment from elite universities and endogenous elite circulation within the Red Circle firms. International credentials and work experience come only secondary to education and work experience in elite Chinese law schools and law firms for achieving elite status in the profession. Yet, international experience plays a role in promoting gender equality in elite professional service firms. This article contributes to the study of globalization and elite production in professional service firms by investigating how local and global forces manifest themselves in elite production in a major emerging market.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Zhu J, Zhao Y, Liu S

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Professions and Organization

Year: 2020

Volume: 7

Issue: 1

Pages: 87-100

Online publication date: 17/03/2020

Acceptance date: 29/01/2020

Date deposited: 01/04/2020

ISSN (print): 2051-8803

ISSN (electronic): 2051-8811

Publisher: Oxford University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/jpo/joaa006

DOI: 10.1093/jpo/joaa006

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