Experts in law: legal profession, gender, and judicial reforms in Chile

Abstract

In this article, I examine the processes that shaped the debate, design, and implementation of two court reforms in Chile (in family law and criminal law) from the perspective of gender. The central argument of the research is that gender structured and valorized lawyers' expertise differently in the two reforms and led to their different outcomes. Their expertise was masculinized or feminized according to a set of competences, claims, and networks. Taking the lesson from Chile, the research highlights the importance of gender relations in the legal profession; a perspective that illuminates the way by which lawyers imagine and promote policy reforms.