Focusing on the Institute of the Order of Brazilian Lawyers between 1843 and 1930, the article analyzes relations between professionalism and the state. It argues that this organization was created by a segment of the elite trained at law schools who wanted to do more than just control the labor market. This group was also active in the construction of the state, providing expert advice on matters of jurisprudence. This paper treats the construction of the modern Brazilian law profession as a process that began under the monarchy with the foundation of law schools in São Paulo and Olinda in 1827 and the establishing of the IOAB in 1843. This process expanded with the creation of the Order of Brazilian Lawyers (OAB) in 1930 and was consolidated through struggles to preserve the OAB's autonomy against attempts at state intervention during 1955, and again between 1968 and 1978 under the military regime.
Professions; Construction of the State; Lawyers; Institute of the Order of Brazilian Lawyers (IOAB); Labor market