In Australia, amendments to the Legal Profession Act require that incorporated legal practices (ILPs) implement ‘appropriate management systems’ to assure compliance with the Legal Profession Act 2004, and appoint a legal practitioner director to be responsible for the management of the ILP. The new law did not define ‘appropriate management systems’ (AMS) so the Office…
Disruptive Innovations in Legal Services
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a discussion on protecting and promoting competition in response to disruptive innovations in legal services. It observed that innovation brings new types of competition and new pressures on the regulatory framework, including on professional exclusivity, entry restrictions and self-regulation. Read more in the competition area of…
The Governance of Regulators
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has described a regulatory policy and governance framework. This report describes seven principles for the governance of regulators: Role clarity Preventing undue influence and maintaining trust Decision making and governing body structure for independent regulators Accountability and transparency Engagement Funding Performance evaluation Read ‘The Governance of Regulators’…
Trends in global and Canadian lawyer regulation
This article examines Canadian lawyer regulation in light of the global trends challenging regulators worldwide. It explains why it is important for Canadian lawyers, regulators, clients, and other stakeholders to be aware of these global trends. The article also addresses the issue of whether these trends matter in a jurisdiction such as Saskatchewan that is not a…
Equity and Diversity in Nova Scotia’s Entity Regulation Management System
This paper was prepared for the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society as part of its programme to transform regulation. The paper sets out the equity mandate of the Society, and emphasizes that institutional continuity requires these values not be lost in the transition to entity regulation. It articulates the case for equity and diversity in entity regulation,…
Transforming Regulation and Governance in the Public Interest
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society is building a new model of regulating legal services as part of its strategic plan for 2013-2016. This paper, Transforming Regulation and Governance in the Public Interest, summarizes the results of extensive research in support of this work. Transforming Regulation
SRA initiatives overview
The SRA publishes its initiatives on the SRA website.
Innovating Regulation – Prairie Law Societies discussion paper
This discussion paper focusses on entity regulation, compliance-based regulation, and alternative business structures. It reviews experiences in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and the United States of America. The paper suggests that there is a gap between the regulatory frameworks of the three states and the requirements of the current legal services market. The discussion…
Why Your Jurisdiction Should Consider Jumping on the Regulatory Objectives Bandwagon
It has become increasingly common to find jurisdictions adopting an explicit and succinct statement of the goals they are trying to achieve when they regulate lawyers. The first example was the 2007 UK Legal Services Act, which set forth the regulatory objectives that the Act — and its implementation — should achieve. The form that such adoption…
The case for proactive management-based regulation to improve professional self-regulation for US lawyers
This article argues that the American Bar Association (ABA) should recommend, and the state courts should adopt, proactive management-based regulation (PMBR) programs to supplement the existing complaint-based systems of professional discipline. The article discusses the New South Wales program, highlighting the requirement that incorporated legal practices designate Legal Practitioner Directors, and non-adversarial collaboration between regulators and…