Platformization of legal practice: working conditions and social trajectory of platform lawyers

condições de trabalho e trajetória social de advogados uberizados

Abstract

This article analyzes the platformization of law and has as its backdrop the spread of the platformization of work in different sectors of the economy. The research was carried out based on interviews with lawyers who work on the Jurídica Certo platform and by applying an online questionnaire answered by 118 workers who work on this and other legal service platforms. In the first part, we discuss the characteristics of platformed work and carry out a brief survey of research that addresses the platformization of occupations such as psychologists, teachers, lawyers and translators. In the second part, we highlight the different ways that the platform uses to extract value from the work of these individuals and the low prices paid to hold hearings. Jurídico Certo retains a fee of 9% to 15% of payments received by lawyers and takes an average of 30 days to deposit these payments. Subsequently, we addressed the professional and educational trajectory of these lawyers, aiming to identify the class composition of this group. Most of these individuals combined graduation with work, graduated low-prestige private colleges and are the first person in their family to access higher education. We conclude that platformization did not affect the legal profession as a whole, but lawyers with a well-defined professional trajectory and training path. Furthermore, Jurídico Certo's digital architecture intensifies the precariousness of legal work by imposing a reverse auction, as whoever charges less for the demand will have a greater chance of being chosen by the contractor.