Agribusiness Lawyers in Brazil: Construction of Legal Expertise and Defense of Agribusiness Interests

The present manuscript explores the emergence of a new legal expertise in Brazil: agribusiness lawyers. The research was conducted through interviews, document analysis, and ethnography, demonstrating how power relations in the upper echelons contribute to the maintenance of inequalities in rural areas. Agribusiness in Brazil has consolidated itself within a context of significant transformations in the state, marked by a neoliberal project that intensified from the 1990s onwards, promoting changes in states, economies, and societies. The strengthening of agribusiness resulted in the expansion of the field and the creation of a new legal professional market, where lawyers seek privileged positions through the sale of their services (Dezalay, 2005).

With the rise of agribusiness, a specialized legal segment has emerged, where lawyers refer to themselves as "agribusiness lawyers," claiming a professional expertise to represent the sector's interests. This advocacy can manifest in the competition for new clients and also in cause-oriented advocacy, where lawyers are intellectually and politically engaged with the agribusiness movement. They utilize their legal skills to influence sector policies, shaping political actions. In their offices, lawyers provide a "full-service" approach, encompassing legal advice, political lobbying, and the drafting of legislative amendments.

Moreover, agribusiness lawyers organize themselves into institutions to promote conservative agendas, crystallizing these into public policies and laws. They invest in arguments to create or alter legislation related to trade, financing, the environment, and taxes. Lawyers act as intermediaries, translating and regulating the sector in a market-mediated relationship between the local and the international. They are capable of producing persuasive arguments and building institutions, transforming individual interests into rights.