Who Demands Collective Action In An Imperfect Institutional Environment? A Case-Study Of The Professional Community Of Attorneys In Russia

We analyse the professional community of attorneys in Russia in order to understand their potential for collective action in an imperfect institutional environment. In 2013 we conducted a survey of 372 attorneys in 9 regions of Russia. Two main hypotheses are tested: 1) lawyers with strong ethical values have higher demand for collective actions; 2) the negative experience of clients rights violation by law enforcement officers can motivate attorneys to support the foundation of a strong professional association. Also we suggest that attorneys’ professional community with bona fide members at the core could be an instrument for an estimation of the quality of law enforcement in Russia.