9311649 NELSON The proposed research focuses on the experience of women as they integrate into the legal profession. Two cases are compared: (1) women in large corporate firms, and (2) women in an elite feminist practice. This comparison will identify social factors in professional work environments that can advance or impede the interests of women as they advance in status in these firms. Comparisons of women's experiences in male-dominated professionl organizations and in an organization where women exercise power and authority will yield knowledge about aspects of organizational structures, cultures and ideologies that contribute to gender stratification in the legal profession. In-depth interviews will be employed to elicit narratives about career experiences that reveal professional ideologies, organizational values and the propensity of women to articulate gender-related needs and interests. The sample includes 50 women drawn from large firms in a midwestern city and the entire professional staff of a leading women's legal reform organization. The study will contribute to a theoretical framework for the study of the integration of women into the legal profession as well as of gender dynamics within elite professional workplaces. ***
