LEARNING COLLECTIVE EMINENCE: Harvard Law School and the Social Production of Elite Lawyers

The informal curriculum at Harvard Law School reorients ambitious individualistic incoming students toward collective definitions of achievement. They learn to cooperate with rather than compete against classmates. This creates a sense of mutual eliteness, or “collective eminence.” Students learn that professional success is available for all who attend, and that therefore, only neurotic “gunners” try to outdo peers. This world view is communicated through such processes as orientation‐week meetings, classroom dynamics, recruitment criteria, corporate job interviews, and law review selection. This ideology directs students toward service in the most prestigious law firms, both because they learn that such positions are their destiny and because the recruitment network that results from collective eminence makes these jobs extremely easy to obtain. This sharply contrasts with student experiences in less eminent law schools.