This course introduces the legal profession from a sociological perspective. Focussing on the social structure of the legal profession, the course draws on the sociology of professions and the sociology of law and covers topics such as the creation of the profession, competition from inside and outside, historical and modern challenges to professional boundaries, and structural transformations and shifts. The course will provide examples from global legal professions. It does not teach how to think like a lawyer, nor does it provide the perspective of legal practitioners, but instead it provides social science perspectives for understanding how the legal profession is organized, differentiated, and transformed over space and time.