| This dissertation interrogates the experiences of Asian American and Latino law students, as racialized second-generation, children of immigrants entering an elite profession. Intersecting immigration, race and ethnicity, and professional socialization literature, I compare the students' experiences across race, gender, socioeconomic background, immigrant history, and law school (lower-tiered v. tier-one). Based on two academic years of observations at student organization meetings, interviews with 102 law students, and apprenticeship diaries, I find that law school socialization is comprised of intervening and competing layers of influence.;At the outset, Asian American and Latino law students are racialized through attending law school, and socialized to identify with pan-ethnic groups and communities. The majority of law students were not involved in affinity groups prior to law school, but were ascribed pan-ethnically, and learned to identify with raciailzed communities. Asian American and Latino law students also manage their budding professional and (pan)ethnic identities with a repertoire of strategies, which I have identified as "panethnic marginalism," "tempered altruism," and "instrumental ethnicity." Additionally, the intersection of gender, ethnicity, race and immigrant history plays a prominent role in how women law students negotiate their emotions and professional role confidence. This study underscores the role and salience of race in professional socialization, and adds a new dimension, racialization within the professions, to 21st century conceptualizations of immigrant adaptation in mainstream America. |
