Lawyers Became Uber Drivers and Street Vendors in Crisis in The Pandemic

Judiciary Closure and Digitization Impacted New Graduates and Veterans

Clients that disappeared, payments that didn't come and the need to change course were part of lawyers' lives throughout the pandemic. The impoverishment that was already a reality in the area worsened during the period.

Two-thirds of lawyers work autonomously, without formal links with offices or companies, according to the Datafolha survey carried out in 2021 with lawyers from all regions of the country.

"They practically exhausted all the possibilities of earning money as a lawyer. Until the vaccination started, nobody wanted to do anything and I practically didn't work in the first and second year of the pandemic," said social security lawyer Osmar Quadros.

Married, with a four-year-old son and in debt to finance his graduation, Osmar turned to being an Uber driver, a job he had been doing since the course and which became his source of income for three years, despite his degree.​

The average monthly individual income, according to the survey, was R$5,855, with 44% of professionals in the range up to R$2,500.

The average monthly individual income, according to the survey, was R$5,855, with 44% of professionals in the range up to R$2,500.

Translated by Kiratiana Freelon

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