Lawyers in Post-Transformational Society in Times of Populism: Guardians of the Hegemonic Status Quo or Agents of Social Change?

The article discusses the functioning of lawyers in a Central European, post-transformational society. It presents both the narrative created and spread by legal milieu concerning their social role, as well as how legal professions function and are perceived within society. Lawyers often describe themselves as agents of social change and as being actively involved defenders of individual rights. Meanwhile, they are more often perceived as guardians of the status quo, who serve the interests of the hegemonic class. This is illustrated by the situation in Poland after 1989, where such a narrative has prevailed since the very beginning of the transformation, and where problems connected with the actual functioning of legal professions have been accumulating. The gradually growing discrepancy between the narrative of the legal milieu and the social evaluation of their activities made lawyers an easy target for attack from politicians described as populist. The author suggests perceiving lawyers as agents of social change, who follow social expectations, rather than as guardians of post-transformational status quo.