Susana Santos is a sociologist (PhD in Sociology, Iscte, 2012), assistant professor at Iscte and integrated researcher at CIES-Iscte (within the "Inequalities, Work and Social Wellbeing" group). Her career is defined by an interdisciplinary approach to the Sociology of Law, particularly focusing on the legal profession, corporate law firms, and the intersection of law and the economy.

Susana Santos holds significant international and national leadership roles in this field. She is a Board Member of the Research Committee in Sociology of Law (RCSL) of the International Sociological Association (2023–2025) and currently serves as the co-coordinator of the "Sociology of Law and Justice" section of the Portuguese Association of Sociology (APS). A landmark in her career was serving as the Co-Chair of the Local Organizing Committee for the 7th Global Meeting on Law & Society in 2022. She was the Chair of the jury of the 2025 Podgórecki Prize. Her research explores the socialization of legal elites, the impact of globalization on professional pathways, and gender inequalities within large law firms. More recently, her research has focused on the "encoding of capital," inspired by Katharina Pistor’s work. She investigates how business lawyers act as mediators between transnational companies and states, transforming assets into capital and influencing wealth production and inequality.

A significant aspect of her professional extension is her long-standing collaboration with the Center for Judicial Studies (CEJ). Between 2012 and 2022, she served as a jury member for the admission exams of several training courses for judicial and Public Prosecution magistrates, as well as for Administrative and Tax Courts (TAF). This institutional role is closely linked to her studies on courts and access to justice, where she examines:

• Judicial System Reforms: Analyzing the impacts of justice policies and procedural reforms on the system's efficiency.
• Institutional Dialogue: Facilitating connections between academia and professional legal associations, including the CEJ and the High Council of the Judiciary.
• Subalternity and Public Opinion: Researching the "construction of public opinion" within the criminal justice system and the legal representation of marginalized groups.
• Ethics and Fraud Monitoring: Participating in the Prosecutor General’s Office think tank on fraud risks concerning EU financial resources, bridging sociology with judicial oversight