The research aimed to identify the image of lawyer profession as disseminated in a newspaper in Paraíba. It grounded in concepts of functional group, and collective identity. We developed documental research with categorical content analysis to treat the selected material: 382 reports of the years 2001 and 2003. We identified two wide categories: (a) associative and political actions, and (b) professional exercise. The empirical results allowed us to identify core aspects concerning the professional identity formation, such as: the influence of profession exercise and the representative entity in the society; the attribution of importance to power, and professional's preoccupations. In sum, we found a collective identity reflecting the historical traditions in the country.
lawyers; content analysis; collective identity; professional choice; career
